


Fool Me Twice

by AlyxRae



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Complicated Relationships, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Espionage, Fluff and Angst, Getting Back Together, Gratuitous use of song lyrics, Hurt/Comfort, I Will Go Down With This Ship, M/M, Mutual Pining, Organized Crime, Past Relationship(s), Slow Burn, Song Lyrics, Thief AU, Thief/Spy Au, broganes, hehe, its gonna get long folks, lovers to enemies to friends to lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-26
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-03-24 06:05:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 79,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13805010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlyxRae/pseuds/AlyxRae
Summary: It took ten years for Keith to gain his freedom from the Marmora Organization. Working as a thief to pay off his late father's debt, it seemed like the day would never come. Now that it had, Keith finally has a chance to live his own life and reconnect with his best friend, Shiro. Maybe he could even seek out his old flame and rekindle their relationship (it was a long shot, but its not like he didn't have time).There's only one problem: normal life was hella boring.





	1. I Am Here

**Author's Note:**

> My only knowledge of thievery stems from the Sly Cooper video games and the Ocean's movies. So please don't think too hard about any of the details lol. But I'm really excited to share this story! I feel like I've written enough on here for y'all to know, but this is going to be another long ride folks and i'm so excited to get into it :D
> 
> Oh and give my wonderful beta [annalyia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalyia/pseuds/annalyia) some love. Getting this chapter done was a challange lol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am here, I am here  
> I've already seen the bottom, so there's nothing to fear  
> I know that I'll be ready when the devil is near  
> Cause I am here, I am here

The sun was high in the desert sky, beating down on Keith relentlessly as he trekked down the highway road. His boots were perfect for long walks, but insulated and intended for cooler weather. So what if his feet felt like they were being slow roasted and his socks were soaked with sweat? It was worth it. It was so worth it.

The small duffle bag slung across his shoulders held everything he possessed. Apart from the clothes he had on, Keith owned three extra shirts, another pair of pants, a few spare boxers and socks and finally, a book. All of that coupled with the knife hidden in his boot pretty much summed up Keith Kogane.

 The book he carried was _Treasure Island_ and it was the one book Keith read over and over again as a kid. He wasn’t even really sure where he got it from, but it was his and Keith cherished it.

Folded up in the pages of the worn book was a photo. The only photo Keith had. It was a simple picture with three people in it. Keith, as a young child sitting between his mother and father.

It was impossible to say where or when this picture was taken. Keith guessed he was around two or three at the time and he didn’t recognize the bench where his family was sitting. It was an odd thing to hold on to, considering he didn’t know his parents or really care to find out, but it was all the proof he had.

Proof that he had a life before the Marmora Organization picked him up.

Keith tugged the elastic band from his wrist with his teeth. He scooped up his hair and pulled it high off the back of his neck. With practiced ease, he twisted the hair tie into place and kept walking. He could feel the sun burning his neck and half wished that he’d asked Kolivan for some sunscreen before setting out. But that would have meant spending more time with the Marmora. Ten years was long enough.

Cars drove by him without a second thought. Keith knew that no sane person was going to pick him up off the side of the road, so he didn’t bother getting annoyed. The world was a dangerous place, and even the most normal looking people could turn out to be dangerous. Keith knew that first hand.

So when a large old van pulled off the road in front of Keith, he was little more than weary. Keith stopped in his tracks and felt his fingers twitch, wanting his blade as protection. But rash decisions weren’t going to get him anywhere. He taught himself to be patient over the years and figured out solutions that didn’t involve a fight. This situation was no different.

The owner of the car hopped out, leaving the engine running as he walked around. He was a big guy, dark hair and skin with a hesitant smile on his face. That smile grew wider when he made eye contact with Keith.

“Hey, do you need a ride?” he asked. The young man didn’t look dangerous, even though Keith was pretty sure that one punch from this guy would take him down in an instant. There was something about him that oozed kindness and Keith felt the tremor in his hand fade away.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” He shuffled forward, excited about the idea of sitting.

The big guy smiled. “Great! Hop in!”

Keith followed him to the car and slid into the passenger seat. The cool air was nothing less of amazing, and Keith felt his whole body unwind as he leaned closer to the vents.

“Seatbelt,” the big guy chimed. Keith shrugged off his bag and set it by his feet before putting on his seatbelt.

“Thanks for the ride.”

“No problem, dude. Need some water?”

“Uh, if you have some…”

“Sure do. There’s some in the back.”

Keith turned and to his great delight, a whole case of water bottles sat on the back seat. He ripped open the plastic and grabbed two right away. His own water bottle had been empty for nearly two hours. It hung uselessly off his bag and would continuously bump Keith’s arm as he walked. Like a cruel reminder.

“Oh, I’m Hunk, by the way.”

“Keith,” He answered in between gulps.

“Good to meet you, Keith. Are you heading anywhere in particular?”

“Uh, yeah. Arus City?”

“Aw perfect, that’s where I’m heading. I live there with my friend, actually.”

Keith huffed. “Huh, what a weird coincidence.”

“You’re telling me.” Hunk turned the AC up another notch and turned his vent so that it faced Keith. “So, where you coming from?”

Keith shrugged. “Nowhere in particular.”

“Nomad?”

“I guess.”

“That’s cool. A modern day nomad. Do you have a place to stay in Arus?”

“Yeah. A friend of mine. He’s a nurse at Central Hospital.” The one thing Keith did do before leaving Marmora was find Shiro. It had been a long time since he saw his friend, but Keith hoped dropping in on him would be alright. If it wasn’t… well then Keith would have to make it on his own. He was prepared to do that, but it was a backup plan for a reason.

Hunk nodded, humming a little as he drove. He seemed so happy and at ease that Keith just had to ask.

“So, you’re really chill about picking up random people from the desert. Aren’t you afraid I’ll murder you or something?”

Hunk laughed, shaking his head as he did so. “You’re kind of blunt, huh?”

Keith didn’t have an answer for that.

“Well to be honest, I saw you a few days ago at the gas station near the interstate. I had to run to a junkyard out there to pick up some parts. I’m on my way back to the city and here you are. You didn’t look like a serial killer then and you don’t now, so I thought, why not lend a hand?”

“Huh.”

“That and I texted my buddy that I’m picking up a hitchhiker, told him what you look like, and said if I don’t make it home you probably murdered me.” Hunk held up his phone with a whole chat on the screen for Keith to see.

“That makes more sense, to be honest.”

Hunk shrugged. “Glad to see you’re not taking it personally, dude.”

“We live in a shitty world. It’s great being nice, but you have to be prepared for bad things to happen.”

“Yeah… kind of sucks.”

“Yeah.” Keith hadn’t meant to lay out his world views to a complete stranger. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he had a normal conversation with anyone. It’s not like he had friends in Marmora.

Hunk seemed like a good enough guy. A little paranoid, but Keith didn’t think it was a bad thing. He was just being cautious.

A few minutes down the road and Hunk turned on the radio. It had been so long since Keith had relaxed like this that he couldn’t help but close his eyes. He crossed his arms over his chest, comfortably cool and slid down further in his seat. Sleep came soon after.

Hunk woke him from his nap with a gentle shake.

“Hey, Keith? Buddy?”

“Ugh…”

“Whoa, that’s some wicked drool there man.”

Keith quickly wiped his cheek with his shirt and sat up.

The view around them had changed. They had made it to the heart of Arus City; a big loud place filled with all the wonders of the modern world. It was an oasis in the desert that grew a little more with each passing year. There were skyscrapers that glittered in the sunlight and trees that flourished on the sidewalks. It was a really beautiful place.

It had been a long time since Keith had been here, but it was one of his favorite cities. And he had travelled to many places over the years. Keith sat up and looked outside, trying to get an idea of where they were.

“Where do you need me to drop you off?” Hunk asked as he rolled up to a stop light.

“Montgomery and Chase,” Keith replied instantly. He had Shiro’s address memorized.

Hunk nodded and continued to drive. He turned up the radio when a certain song came on and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. After a polite conversation or two, Hunk was pulling off the road and parking in front of a meter. Keith looked up at the building.

It was modest, in a good enough neighborhood, and it was decently priced. Keith’s eyes trailed over to the fourth floor where he knew Shiro’s apartment sat.

“I guess this is it, buddy,” Hunk said.

“Yeah.”

“Hey, thanks for not murdering me.”

Keith chuckled. “Right back at you. Oh, and thanks for picking me up. It would have taken me a whole other day to get to the city.”

“No problem, man.”

The door locks clicked open and Keith grabbed his bag. He stepped out into the cool evening air and took a deep breath. He couldn’t believe that he was actually here.

“Hey, good luck, Keith. If you see me around, don’t hesitate to say hi.” Hunk smiled that big comforting smile again as he leaned over the center console.

“Thanks, Hunk. I’ll see you later.”

“Later!”

Keith stepped back and watched as Hunk’s van rolled down the street. As he turned the corner, the kind young man waved. Keith waved back and couldn’t help but smile. It was kind of incredible that he’d run into such kindness during his first few days of freedom. Keith wanted to take it as some kind of sign, like the universe was telling him that things were going to be alright. After a decade of utter shit, it only seemed natural that things would get better. But Keith was still weary.

Climbing the few steps up the stoop, Keith buzzed Shiro’s apartment number. There was no answer the first or second time he rung it, so Keith stopped trying. He had no idea what his friend’s schedule would be like, but didn’t mind waiting. He stepped off the bottom step and went to search for some cheap food.

Finding a little grocery store, Keith grabbed a sandwich and some chips, topping it off with a soda. He paid the cashier with what little pocket money Kolivan gave him and went back to loitering near Shiro’s building.

The night came slowly. The summer day dragged on and clung to the sky for as long as it could. Most of the sunset was obscured by the buildings, but there were moments when the colors of the setting sun reflected on the tall glass skyscrapers. Keith liked those moments the most.

People had come and gone from Shiro’s apartment. Some families and some people his own age. Keith also noticed a woman with an alarming number of dogs tethered to her waist. At first he thought she owned all of them, until she left moments later with a handful of leashes and no dogs.

 _She must be a dog walker or something_ , Keith considered. _Maybe I could be a dog walker? How much does that even pay?_

Being away from Marmora also meant that Keith was going to have to get a job for the first time in his life. He had his GED, but no college experience at all. Going to school now seemed pointless and particularly boring. But then again, who would want to hire a twenty year old with no work experience? He could pick a standard lock in under twelve seconds, but that didn’t help him land a job with benefits.

In the middle of all his rambling thoughts, another figure cruised down the street on a bicycle. The rider slowed, swinging his leg over the seat before he came to a full stop. Shiro was wearing his hospital scrubs with a backpack over his shoulders. The nerd even had a helmet on which made Keith laugh. Shiro, although a whole decade older, didn’t seem to have changed at all.

This was the moment Keith was waiting for all afternoon and now it was staring him in the face. This was it. He was going to see his best friend, his brother, after so long. He was going to be able to talk to him, to hug him, all the things he’d been missing out on for years. So, why was he so scared?

Keith shook his head, mentally berating himself. He spent the better half of his childhood working for an underground organization. Going up to his old friend was a walk in the park compared to that. With one final deep breath, Keith stepped out from his hiding spot.

He quickly walked across the street, trying to catch Shiro before he went inside. With his bike on his shoulder, Shiro hiked up the stairs.

“Hey, need a hand there Captain?” Keith planted himself on the sidewalk in front of the stairs. He felt his breath hitch in his throat as Shiro froze, his keys hovering inches from the door. Slowly, Shiro turned.

“…Keith?” his eyes were blown wide, his face pale like he had seen a ghost. And really, it was kind of like he had. Shiro hadn’t seen Keith since he was fifteen years old. At the time, Keith himself had only been ten. It was incredible that Shiro even recognized him.

“Hey, Takashi. Uh… long time no see?” Keith regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. “Th-that was a dumb thing to say… aw, shit. Um, so, hi? I kind of said that already. I don’t really know what I’m doing— oof!”

Keith near fell over as Shiro collided with him. The bike lay forgotten on the ground along with his keys and sense of personal space.  Keith gawked at his friend, his back straight as a rail and heart pounding. But Shiro didn’t care. He was hugging Keith tight enough to bruise. And it felt good. It felt so good.

In a few moments, Keith felt his tension melt away and he tentatively reached up and wrapped his arms around Shiro in return. The older man laughed, the sound breathy and happy. Keith could hear the smile on his voice.

“Keith…Christ, it’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too, Takashi.” Keith let the last of his defenses fall and buried his face in Shiro’s shoulder. Just like they were kids again.

The two of them stood outside the building for a while. Long enough for the sun to finally dip below the horizon. Shiro was the first to move, pulling back a bit just to look at Keith’s face.

“You smell like shit.” A familiar grin stretched across Shiro’s face. Keith rolled his eyes and flicked a few stray tears off his cheek.

“You are such an asshole.”

“Language.”

“Oh my god, shut up.” Keith shoved the older man away playfully. At this moment, he was sure nothing could take the smile off his face.

Shiro looked at him for a moment, his eyes trailing over Keith’s face and just taking him in. Keith did the same, looking at Shiro and picturing the teen he knew all those years ago. Shiro had always been strong, but now he had really filled out. His chest was broad, his shoulders and arms strong. His hair was nearly as black as Keith’s own, with the exception of a few white strands near the front. Despite the changes, Takashi Shirogane looked every inch the boy he remembered and Keith was overjoyed that he was able to see his friend again.

For a moment, Keith wondered what he looked like in Shiro’s eyes. Could he see the hardships Keith worked through? The damage that all that time had caused? Did Keith look anything like the innocent child Shiro had once known?

There must have been something of his old self in him now. Otherwise, Keith was sure Shiro would have noticed.

“Come on. We’re going to have dinner.” Shiro clapped him on the shoulder and practically shoved him towards the stairs.

“I guess I don’t have a choice, huh?” Not like he was going to say no anyway. This was, after all, a part of his plan.

“Nope. You’re coming up whether you want to or not. I’m not about to let you disappear again.”

Keith smiled at his friend’s sincerity. It was nice to be wanted for something so simple.

The two of them climbed the stairs to Shiro’s apartment. Keith watched in awe as Shiro effortlessly carried his bike up four flights of stairs while chatting away. He wasn’t even out of breath by the time they got to his door.

“… I’m so happy I have the next two days off. You can try and weasel your way out of it, but I am spending as much time with you as I can. We’ve got to make up for lost time.”

Keith chuckled. “That’s fine with me. I’ve got nowhere to be.”

“Good.” Shiro nodded once before unlocking his door. “Well, here we are. Home sweet home.”

Keith stepped in and grinned. It wasn’t anything special. There was a small hall that led to the kitchen on the right and the living room just a few steps further. The one bedroom was through a doorway on the left and a small alcove with a washer and dryer was on the opposite side. Four large windows greeted Keith as he stepped into the living room and he couldn’t help but stare.

It wasn’t the best view, but he could see clearly across the street to the other building. There was a restaurant on the bottom floor along with a florist that was currently closed. The second story looked like it was home to a dance studio and Keith was mesmerized by the rhythmic movements of the pair in the window.

“Keith? Did you hear me?”

Keith spun around and realized that Shiro was standing in the kitchen. His bike was parked the little hall by the front door and he’d already dropped his bag on the floor. “Huh?”

Shiro chuckled. “I said, did you want to take a shower? I’ll order us some food. It’s should be here by the time you’re done.”

“You just don’t want me stinking up your apartment, admit it.”

“That is part of the reason. I could always douse you in Febreze. It might take more than one can, though.”

“Y’know, I remember you being much nicer when you were a kid.”

“And I remember you being shorter. Actually, it doesn’t look you’ve grown too much...”

“Hey!”

“Go on and take a shower. You’ll feel better. They are towels in the closet.” Shiro pointed towards the bedroom and kicked off his shoes. Keith rolled his eyes and did the same, lugging his duffle bag to the bathroom.

The shower felt downright amazing. All the sweat and dirt that built up from days’ worth of walking coated his skin like a film. As it slowly washed off, Keith felt rejuvenated. He also realized that he had quite the sunburn on his arms and on the back his neck.

After drying off and getting dressed, Keith shook his hair out and dried it as best as he could with another towel. Curious, he swiped his hand over the mirror and wiped away the condensation.

It’s not like Keith hadn’t looked at himself in a while, but for some reason he thought he looked a little different than normal. His hair was the same, dark and falling just below his shoulders. His eyes were still a curious greyish purple color they had been all his life. But looking into the mirror at that moment, Keith couldn’t help but see a change in himself. A weight lifted from his shoulders, and turning him into a completely different person.

It had taken ten long years, but his late father’s debt to the Marmora Organization had finally been paid and Keith was a free man.

Keith hung up the towel and got dressed. His damp hair stuck to his face and instead of brushing it, he pulled it up into another ponytail. It would definitely dry weird, but it wasn’t like he had anyone to impress.

Once he was back in the living room, Keith felt the first hint of awkwardness. Shiro was folding laundry, a smile on his face and a pile of colorful scrubs on the couch. Keith held his duffle bag in one hand and glanced around.

“You can put your bag down, you know,” Shiro commented. “You look like you’re going to take off any moment.”

Keith snorted and dropped his bag on the floor. His eyes trailed over to the shelves on the walls, noticing the books and pictures Shiro displayed. There wasn’t too much, really. There were still plenty of empty spaces to be filled.

“I ordered pizza. Just pepperoni and some breadsticks. Is that alright?”

“Yeah, that sounds great.”

“Good.” Shiro folded the last of his laundry and placed it in the basket at his feet. He carried it passed Keith and into his room. When he came out again, he was looked at Keith expectantly. “So.”

“So.” Keith gulped. He wasn’t sure where to even begin. Shiro crossed over back to the couch and sat down, gesturing for Keith to follow. He sat down and wedged himself in the corner.

“It… it’s been a really long time, Keith.” Shiro’s voice was gentle, but searching. He was curious.

“Yeah. Ten years?”

“Just about.” Silence. Keith pulled his legs up to his chest while Shiro watched. “What happened, Keith? Where did you go?”

Keith wrapped his arms around his knees. He tried to think of something to say, but the truth sounded so crazy. He didn’t know how Shiro would take it. So Keith stayed quiet.

Shiro tried again. “After your dad died, my parents were ready to take you in. I mean, you were practically living with us most of the time anyway. But when they went to check on you, you were just gone. All your stuff, your clothes, it was all still there. What happened?”

“It’s… It’s kind of a long story.”

“We’ve got time. You said you don’t have anywhere to be, after all.” Shiro had a glint in his eye, one that Keith recognized. He was in full on big brother mode. He wasn’t going to stop pestering Keith until he gave some sort of answer. Keith knew that look well.

Just then, the buzzer by the door rang. Shiro hopped up and buzzed the pizza guy in. After paying the man, the two sat on the living room couch, munching on pizza while some random sitcom played on TV. After his third slice Shiro took his plate to the kitchen.

“Do you have a place to stay tonight?”

“Um, no.”

Shiro chuckled. “I didn’t think so. Going off the dirt you had clinging to your hair and the sunburn, I’m guessing you just rolled into town.”

“Yeah. Just a few hours ago.”

“Well, you’re more than welcome to stay here. For as long as you want.”

Keith quietly sighed in relief. “Thanks, Shiro.”

“No problem, kiddo. And… well, you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, okay? Just… just remember that I’m here if you need it.”

“I know. Thanks, again.”

“You’re welcome. Now, do you still like board games? I have _Battleship_.”

“Heh, think you can beat me? I’m pretty sure I won all the time when we were kids.”

“Or I just let you win. You were just a little kid after all.” Shiro smirked.

“Little? Oh you’re on, old man.”

“Bring it.”

 

* * *

 

 

It was well past midnight. Keith was sprawled on the couch with his head in Shiro’s lap. The older man was quietly snoring, his head tipped back on the cushions. Several board games and their pieces lay scattered on the apartment floor. The TV was still on, quietly playing the late night news.

Keith felt strange. It was a weird mixture of comfortable and uncomfortable. He was happy where he was, but still didn’t really feel like he belonged. Looking up at Shiro one last time, Keith sat up. He pulled the elastic band out of his hair and let it fall. It curled on his cheeks and tickled his ears. Keith took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

This didn’t feel real yet. It felt like at any moment, Keith would get an order to come back, to report for his next assignment. He would leave Shiro, without so much as a word because he was too much of a coward to say goodbye. Just like with—

With _him_. He who shall not be named. Keith grimaced and buried his face in his hands at the memory.

“Keith?” Shiro’s voice was groggy. Keith turned and chuckled at his friend’s sleepy expression. “You all right?”

“I’m fine. Just… can’t sleep.”

“Might help if I wasn’t taking up half the couch.” Shiro rubbed his hands over his face. “I’ll head to my bed and grab you a pillow and blanket.” Shiro pushed himself up and yawned. He shuffled over to his bedroom.

Keith turned back to the window and gazed at the now empty building across the street.

 _Any second now, Ulaz will call,_ Keith thought. _He’ll tell me about a car waiting at some intersection. Tell me to get in and not ask questions. Then I’ll be gone. Gone for who knows how long. It’s happened before, it will happen again._

Keith had to actually pinch himself. The sharp little pain helped him focus on the present. His debt was paid. He was a free man. There would be no more missions, no more stealing, no more Marmora. He was free.

He spoke before he really knew what he was saying. The urge to tell someone, to tell Shiro, was suddenly overwhelming. “My dad had a pretty big debt he owed to some bad people.”

He heard more than saw Shiro stop. “What?”

“My dad. Turns out, he wasn’t a truck driver. At least, not at first.”

“I don’t… I don’t think I understand.”

Keith chuckled dryly and fell back onto the cushions. He stared up at the ceiling. “I don’t understand it all either. But what I do know is that my dad was an asshole and that he borrowed a shit ton of money from a… _questionable_ group of people. He died before he could pay them back, but that didn’t stop them from coming to collect.”

Shiro was frozen where he stood, barely breathing as he listened to his long-lost friend tell his story. “’Coming to collect’… you mean, they came for you?”

“…yeah.”

“B-but, you were just a kid. You were _ten years old_.”

“Age is just a number, Takashi.”

“Bullshit. That isn’t right, Keith, and you know it.”

Keith rolled his eyes and sat up. “I know, I know, it’s just… well I guess I’m just a little numb to it all at this point.”

“So, what did they do?” Shiro’s voice was low, lower than Keith had ever heard it. It was dangerous tone, one that could lash out and strike at any moment. Keith knew he wasn’t in danger, but couldn’t help the little whirl of panic in the pit of his stomach. His eyes darted around the living room sporadically, looking for a place to hide.

“They did stuff…”

“Stuff? Like what? How did they expect a child to pay back a man’s debt?”

“The only way a kid could. I… I stole for them. Any bit of change I could find went towards my debt—“

“You mean you father’s,” Shiro interrupted. Keith looked up, a little confused. “You weren’t the one to get involved with these guys. Your dad was. It was his problem, his failure. So don’t call it yours. It wasn’t supposed to be your burden to bare.”

Keith blinked. “I uh, o-okay. Okay, I won’t call it mine.”

“Because it isn’t.”

“Right. Because it isn’t.” Keith felt an odd sense of relief saying those words. He shook his head and chuckled. “Y’know, I kind of forgot for a while. That it wasn’t actually _my_ debt I was paying off. I guess I just… I don’t know. I just forgot the real reason why I was there.”

Shiro nodded, his tense posture relaxing a bit. “Well, I won’t let you forget it anytime soon. So. You stole.”

“Oh, yeah. Just pickpocketing most of the time. Wallets, watches, phones, stuff like that.”

“Where were you?”

“Chicago for the most part. But when I got older, I started moving around. Well, the Marmora did.”

“The what?” Shiro asked.

“The Marmora Organization. They’re an underground group that deals in all sorts of things.”

“Like a mob?”

Keith shrugged. “Kind of, I guess. The older I got, the more they stared to notice me. At first, they would just keep an eye on me. Made sure I stayed closed and reported in every week to give them what I collected. But I wanted out Shiro, so I did everything I could to pay off my debt— my _father_ ’s debt— as fast as possible.”

“How?”

“Well, they are an organized crime syndicate. And I was already pretty good at picking locks and lifting expensive things.”

“You kept stealing.” Shiro sounded slightly bewildered.

“Everything but the kitchen sink,” Keith confirmed. Of course, there was one other layer to his time with the Marmora. One that Keith wasn’t quite ready to peel back and expose. Maybe one day, he’d tell his friend, but right now this was all he could handle.

Shiro slowly made his way back to couch and sat. His brow was furrowed in thought and his fingers were drumming against his knee. “How did you get out?” he finally asked.

“It’s pretty simple. I paid off my dad’s debt. They let me go.”

“That easily?”

“Kolivan, the leader, is a pretty honorable guy. He always keeps his word.”

Shiro fixed him with an unimpressed look. “He kidnapped a ten year child.”

“He is technically a criminal, so it’s not all that surprising,” Keith pointed out. “But hey, that whole thing about honor amongst thieves is actually true.”

Shiro huffed and quietly let the moment pass. Keith wasn’t sure what else to say, so he stayed silent and turned back to the window. There were hardly any stars in the sky. That was one thing that sucked about living in a city.

Suddenly, Shiro stood up. “Okay, we’re going to the police.”

“W-what?”

“The police. Now. Grab your shoes.”

Keith jumped up. “Wait, wait, wait… you can’t be serious.”

“Of course I’m serious! Keith, these men took you from your home and forced you to work for them for years. They deserve to go to jail.”

“Yeah and, technically, so do I.”

Shiro waved him aside. “It’s not your fault that you stole some stuff—“

“Shiro, I stole three Rembrandts and a Degas in one night. You must have seen that on the news. The police would arrest me in a heartbeat if they knew I was involved.”

Shiro seemed to have short circuited. He dragged his hands down his face and groaned. “…you stole _what_.”

“Focus, Shiro. You can scold me about that stuff later.”

It seemed to take Shiro a tremendous amount of effort not to address the stolen artwork. Getting back on the right track, Shiro grabbed his shoes. “Okay, so maybe you down play just how involved you were, but we are still going to the police.”

“Um, no we’re not.” Keith grabbed one of Shiro’s shoes and held it behind his back. “I’m keeping this so that you’ll listen. Look, say we do go to the police and y’know, tell them everything. We’re still dealing with an entire crime syndicate. One that has people in every major city in the world. It’ll take a whole lot more than some twenty-year-olds testimony and zero proof to back it up.”

“They took away your childhood, Keith. They stole that from you. They should be held responsible for their actions.”

“Yeah, they probably should.” Keith sighed. “But no matter what we tell the police, it’s not going to make a difference. They are an entire organization. I’m just one person. One person can’t change the world.”

“They can if they try.” Shiro spoke with an overwhelming amount of resolve. He truly believed his words.

It was in that moment that Keith learned that Shiro actually believed anything was possible if a person just tried. If they put enough effort into it, devoted themselves and didn’t give up, one person could do anything. Shiro really believed that. Keith didn’t.

It was something he lost growing up the way he did. Something that couldn’t be replaced. He lost sight of the wonder in the world, of its magic deep in its core. It was something children were encouraged to believe in. Not only that, but many adults would hold onto that sliver of magic. Deep in their souls, they would still believe in the power the one person held and that the world was good place deep down.

Keith had learned early on that that just wasn’t true. No one was inherently good.  And one person had no chance against an army. Those we just the facts.

Keith sighed. “It won’t work, Shiro. Trust me on this, okay? I know you want to help, but honestly? The only thing I need right now is a place to stay. I don’t want to tell anyone else what happened. I just want to keep moving forward.”

The two stared at each other for a long time. Keith had no problem looking up at Shiro and matching his intense gaze. He was used to challenging people twice his size. Looking up at Shiro was a bit more intimidating then he remembered, but that was mainly due to the fact that Shiro had the look of a drill sergeant. The man was all muscles and hard edges; it was difficult not to be intimidated by him. But Keith stood his ground. After all, Shiro was a big softy on the inside.

After a long silence, Shiro blinked. “So, you don’t want to go the police.”

“No.”

“Ever think you’re going to change your mind about that?”

“Probably not.”

“Has anyone told you you’re incredibly stubborn?”

“No, but I have a feeling you’re going to be saying that a lot from now on.” Shiro rolled his eyes and flicked Keith in the forehead. “Ow!”

“C’mon. It’s time for bed. And give me back my shoe.”

Keith rubbed the spot on his forehead and smiled. It was… nice. Feeling like an ordinary person again. Growing up, those moments had been few and far between. Even the days spent with… with _him_ were far too short to make Keith feel normal. But this? This was nice.

Shiro was treating him just like he always had. Like a little brother who never failed to drive him crazy.

Keith didn’t hide the smile as he dropped Shiro’s stolen shoe by the door and headed back to the couch. A pillow was tossed at his head, followed by a blanket and some clothes to sleep in. Keith hadn’t said anything, but it was clear that Shiro picked up on the fact that he didn’t own any kind of sleepwear. Keith was still wearing jeans for crying out loud.

Slipping off his shirt and throwing on the new one, Keith was caught off guard as Shiro hugged him. It was a different hug then before. It was soft and careful, with Shrio cradling the back of his head like he was something precious. Something that needed protection. Keith hugged him back.

Without another word, the two broke apart. Shiro ruffled Keith’s hair affectionately and the latter swatted him away.

With one last smile, Shiro went to his room and shut the door.

After getting changed, Keith flopped down on the couch and pulled the blanket up to his chin. The cushions under his back were a little lumpy and the blanket over him might have been a little battered, but he had never slept better.

 

* * *

 

 

It took three days before Keith realized just how boring the real world could be. Shiro had spent his entire weekend with Keith, catching up and showing him around the neighborhood. The man nearly had a heart attack when he realized that Keith only owned four shirts, and promptly took him to the local mall.

Shiro had almost called out of work, but Keith insisted that he go. After all, he had important things to do. So, Keith was left on his own, haunting Shiro’s apartment and exploring Arus on his own.

On the first day, he took the bus to the historic district, back to the mall, made his way to the park and even took a tour of the tallest building in the city.

The second day Keith mapped out the area around Shiro’s apartment building and found the perfect little book store hidden between a boutique and a deli. He also discovered that the dance studio across the street hosted music nights every Thursday where local bands came to play.

On the third day, Keith ordered a sandwich and hung around the apartment. He watched daytime TV and flipped through the books on Shiro’s shelf. Keith even did the dishes and swept the place.

On the fourth day, Keith realized he was bored as all hell.

It’s not like growing up with a bunch of criminals had given him the opportunity to develop hobbies. Yeah, reading was great, but Shiro only owned a handful of books and Keith already finished reading Treasure Island for the hundredth time. He didn’t have enough money to do anything fun, and he didn’t want to ask Shiro when the man had already opened his home to him.

Everything boiled down to the fact that Keith needed a job.

He needed some kind of income so that he wasn’t a freeloader and it would give him something to do when Shiro worked twelve hour shifts. Only problem, he had no skills. Well, he had one skill, but that wasn’t going to help him live an honest life.

Keith walked aimlessly down the street. He visited the little convenience store on the corner to ask about a job, but the man there said that they were over-staffed as it was. He thought about going to the bookstore to see if they were hiring, but the place was closed for the day. Now he was out of ideas, dragging his feet across the sidewalk and silently contemplating his options.

If Keith was being completely honest with himself, he would admit to missing the thrill of stealing.

There was something very cool about calling yourself a thief. And not some petty purse snatcher that wore a ski mask. But an actual, smart, uncatchable thief. Despite the fact that he never got to keep what he stole, Keith had come in contact with some pretty amazing things.

Jewels the size of his fist, solid gold statues carved with amazing detail, paintings older than the city itself.

Okay, so he kind of missed his old life. Not the people he was working for of course, but the job itself. It was fun and challenging working through the details of a heist. It was exhilarating scaling rooftops and evading guards. He never got a share of the spoils, but damn did Keith love the chase. Not only that, but he was good at it. Very good.

Keith stuffed his hands in his pockets and sighed. Only a week into his freedom and already he was itching for the next job. It was pointless to lie anymore. Keith liked being a thief. Now if only he could turn that into a career without getting arrested and then murdered by Shiro. It’s not like there was really a chivalrous way to steal things anyway. Unless you were Robin Hood and Keith wasn’t sure if he was that noble.

A sound to his left broke his stride. Keith turned and looked down the alley he just passed. It was a narrow space with fire escapes clinging to the brick buildings and a large dumpster with a hole in the side. At the end of the alley was a figure covered in shadows, with their features hidden beneath a layer of clothing.

Without a second thought, Keith entered the alley.

“It’s the middle of summer, not winter,” he called out. “You should ditch the scarf and beanie. Then maybe you wouldn’t stick out so much.”

The person crossed their arms. “Perhaps I wanted to be noticed.”

Okay, so it was a woman. A posh sounding woman, going by the accent. Keith felt his pulse quicken as the little mystery he found himself in grew deeper. This was literally the most exciting thing that had happened to him in days. He took a few steps closer.

“Consider yourself noticed. What do you want?”

She laughed. “What makes you think I want anything?”

“Well, you’re still talking to me for one.”

“Isn’t it normal to have a polite conversation when someone addresses you?”

“Not in my experience.”

“Clearly you had terrible upbringing.”

Keith snorted. “You don’t have tell me twice.”

The woman took a few steps forward. The majority of her face was covered by a dark green scarf pulled up to her nose, while her hat was pulled down too far to see her hair. The only thing visible were her eyes. They were blue, bright blue. Brighter than any blue Keith had ever seen (well, almost. But _his_ eyes were like the sea. Hers were like the sky).

She blinked at Keith, her gaze trailing up and down his form like she was assessing him. Keith recognized a look like that.

The woman turned so that her left foot was pointed in Keith’s direction. She bent her knees and brought up her hands, curling them into fists. She was looking to fight him.

“Uh, what are you doing?” Keith asked. He knew that this wasn’t exactly a normal situation, but he clearly didn’t expect this.

The woman rolled her eyes. “What does it look like I’m doing? I want to test your abilities, Keith Kogane.”

“What the— how do you know my name?” Keith balked.

“I’ll make you a deal. Land five clean hits on me and I will tell you who I am and how I know you.”

Keith reached for the elastic band on his wrist, collecting his hair with one hand. “And if you get five hits first?”

 “Then I will turn you into the proper authorities.”

“Guess I can’t lose then, huh? I really don’t want to go to jail.” Keith felt his pulse pounding his ear. He slid his foot in the proper position and bent his knees.

“Don’t think this will be easy,” she warned.

“I never underestimate my opponents. That kind of thinking could get a person killed. Or worse, sent to prison.”

Keith could see the smirk in her eyes.

The two stood completely still, not even blinking while they stared each other down. The world outside the narrow alleyway disappeared. There were no cars or pedestrians, no birds on the telephone wires or cats climbing on the rooftops. Keith’s whole world shrunk down to the woman in front of him and her sky-colored eyes.

Somewhere in the sprawling maze of the city, a large young man with a big smile was retelling the story of a hitchhiker he picked up on the side of the road to his roommate.

In a tiny alley, four blocks away from where he dropped him off, that same hitchhiker was about to fight a mystery woman who was dressed like a ninja. 

In the span of a week, Keith Kogane had gone from being an international criminal to a hitchhiker. He was reunited his best friend and became roommates with the same man. He picked apart his freedom and figured out that it was pretty boring unless you made something of it. But before he could do that, Keith wandered into an alley where a mysterious woman challenged him to a fight. A fight he honestly didn’t know if he could win.

In just a week, Keith had fallen back into his old training, his old habits. He was ready to fight with the first person who challenged him and was nearly giddy with excitement. But the thrill this time around was something new, and Keith had a good idea why it all felt so different. He was doing this for himself. Making his own choices, and choice was what made all the difference. It meant that he was in control of his own life for the first time in years.

With that thought racing through his mind, Keith leaped forward.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: I didn't plan on using songs for chapters when i first posted this story, so the title for this chapter was kind of an anonomly. But I stumbled on a song that I felt kind of fit the feel of this chapter. It's [I Am Here](https://youtu.be/btWXFB6L4IA) by P!nk. 
> 
> Idk, i just really really like it :D
> 
> I did a thing. [fic playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7NCqaPlsQZbK0VVgTYwxhiz6CMAuw65w)


	2. This Life is Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen when I say, I swear it here today  
> I will not surrender, this life is mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title for the chapter is from the song [This Life is Mine](https://youtu.be/M-LLDa8HhYA) by Jeff Williams.
> 
> Anywhoo, here's the next chapter y'all! thanks to annaliya for checking my grammer :D

Keith grunted as a fist collided with side. The air in his lungs hissed out through his gritted teeth as he jumped back from the woman. Her scarf had fallen away moments after the first few blows and now hung around her neck. Keith could clearly see her smirk.

“That’s three for me, Kogane. If I were you, I would start thinking about plea deals. I’m sure you could get a few years taken off of your sentence.”

“Pretty sure I’d still end up an old man in jail, and that is not how I want to live my life,” Keith shot back.

“Then perhaps you ought to try harder. You haven’t touched me once.” She was right. Keith hadn’t hit her at all. Sure his forearms stung from blocking, but his hits and kicks had never made it to their intended targets. However, that was exactly Keith’s plan.

It had taken hours, days— no _years_ \--until Keith finally took Antok’s advice to heart. His second trainer was far better at teaching him than his first. Zarkon had wanted Keith to fight with rage and overpower those around him, while Antok encourage him to use his mind. The giant man had rapped him on the head over and over again until Keith finally listened to his teachings. Barreling in head first was a good way to lose. First things first, assess your opponent.

The woman who challenged him was slim, but strong. She held quite a bit of force in her fists and knew how to throw it around. Obviously, she had some incredible training. Her stance was perfect, moves flawless, and she didn’t hesitate for a second. It was clear from the first few minutes that she was better than Keith.

But Keith learned how to fight on the street. He fought for the last scrap of food or for the warmest spot to sleep. When he got older and began training with Marmora, he fought to stand out. He wanted to get noticed so that they would send him on bigger jobs. The faster he moved up, the faster he paid off his debt. Keith trained hard and fought with his instincts, and that wasn’t something that could be taught. While she might have had the benefit of years of training, Keith had instinct. He knew he could win.

It took three hits for Keith to figure out her style, and it took one more kick to his stomach for him to figure out how to beat it.

“One more and it’s over.” She grinned, her eyes gleaming.

Keith took a breath, letting his shoulders rise and fall slowly. He stepped forward.

It was over before the woman could even process what was happening. One hit to the stomach, two to her left side, a kick to her right, and finally her legs were swept out from under her and she fell back onto the dirty ground. Keith felt his adrenaline pumping, his hands practically shaking from the excitement. He willed the feeling to go away, calming himself down with a few deep breaths.

“And that’s five.” He stepped back and pulled the elastic band out of his hair.

“You cheated,” she said immediately, sitting up with a sour look on her face.

Keith rolled his eyes. “Really? Cheated? What is there a referee nearby? Need to see an instant replay?”

“You’re quite the smart ass, aren’t you?”

“And you’re a sore loser,” he shot back. Really, his mouth could get away with him sometimes. It’s not his fault he has temper issues. He blames that one on Zarkon completely.

Figuring that the fight was a waste of time, Keith spun around and headed back towards the street.

“Where are you going?” the woman asked.

“Away. I figured you were done and now I’m going to go continue my job hunt.”

“What kind of job could a person like you possibly qualify for?”

Even though he really wanted to leave, Keith stopped and turned back towards the woman. “How do you even know what kind of person I am?”

The woman didn’t answer right away. With a smooth motion, she unwrapped the scarf from her neck and tossed it into the nearby dumpster along with her beanie. A absurd amount of snow white hair tumbled around her shoulders, seemingly unaffected from being stuffed in a hat moments ago. She unzipped her black jacket, revealing much more suitable workout clothes underneath. Keith watched all of this with an ever-growing sense of confusion.

“Um. What?” 

“Come on. It smells rather unpleasant here, and we have quite a bit of talking to do. I do have to hold up my end of the deal.” The woman tied her jacket around her hips and sauntered passed Keith confidently.

“Okay.” Keith hesitated, wondering if it was truly worth it to follow her. He was curious, but this woman might be more trouble than she’s worth. After all, she had to have some serious connections to find out Keith’s name. He had been off the grid for years.

Eventually, Keith’s curiosity won out.

The woman smiled. “After I’m done explaining, I’m sure you will have your own questions. By the way, my name is Allura.”

 

* * *

 

Allura hailed them a taxi on the main street and gave the driver an address. Keith did his best to memorize the route in case Allura wasn’t kind enough to give him a ride back. That and he wanted to keep his mind off of the strange events that happened in the alley.

His curiosity was burning, and it was all because of the woman sitting next to him. Allura was well trained, smart, and clearly knew more about Keith than he was really comfortable with. Did she have ties to the Marmora Organization? Was she an undercover cop? The possibilities were endless.

It took all his will power not to question her right there in back seat of the cab. Allura said she would tell him what she knew and he believed she would keep that promise. It might be a mistake to trust someone who threatened to turn him into the police, but Keith was ignoring that fact for now.

The cab took them to a coffee shop smack dab in the middle of the city. It was a pretty large place, servicing both the office buildings that surrounded it and the college just a few blocks away that was still busy with summer classes. A high traffic, public place. An interesting choice.

Allura paid the driver and hopped out, beckoning Keith to follow. Once inside, Keith felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of noise in the coffee shop. There was the clicking of laptop keys, the low roar of a coffee grinder, and even some idiot who didn’t realize that their headphones weren’t plugged into their phone. Keith unintentionally made himself smaller by hunching his shoulders.

Allura stepped up to the counter. “Afternoon, Matt.”

The barista’s grin was wide enough to consume his whole face. “Allura! My beautiful goddess! How are you today?” Matt leaned across the counter and winked.

Keith looked to Allura who seemed either completely unfazed by the flirting or was ignoring it altogether. Either way, her smile was nothing more than polite.

“I’m doing well thank you. I was wondering if the table in the back is open?” she asked. Keith felt his confusion grow. What kind of question was that to ask a barista? It’s not like coffee shops took reservations.

Matt straightened up and took his phone out of his apron pocket. “Doesn’t look like it. Give me one sec… and they’re leaving. Wait about thirty seconds for the smell to clear out then you’re good to go.”

“Thank you. And if you wouldn’t mind—”

“I’ll get your drink and a Danish ready for you.”

“Thank you.”

“Anytime, princess. Oh, are you here with Allura?” Matt the barista turned to Keith, an inquisitive look on his face.

Keith didn’t realize that Matt was talking to him. In fact, he was still caught up in whatever conversation had just happened moments ago. Because of this, instead of answering Matt the only thing that came out of Keith’s mouth was one word.

“… smell?”

Matt blinked while Allura turned away to hide a giggle.

“You’re not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you buddy?”

“Smell.” 

“O-kay… you sure you know what you’re doing, Allura?”

The young woman turned back around, her cheeks pink from laughing. “I’m quite sure. I think after bit of explaining, Keith here might be ready to order.”

“Alright then. I’ll be by in a bit.”

Allura thanked him again and then pulled Keith away from the counter. Utterly confused, Keith let himself be led to a table in the far corner of the shop away from a good deal of the noise. The people around them all had their headphones in, and looked so buried in their laptop screens that it would take a power outage to actually claim their attention.

As Keith sat down, he noticed a lingering scent of… something in the air. Something not all that pleasant.

“That’s what he meant by smell,” Keith said softly. Allura giggled again.

“Yes. That’s what he meant. This is the only spot in the shop where sound doesn’t carry. Instead of echoing off the walls, it’s absorbed by them. A good place to have a private conversation.”

Keith nodded in understanding. He suddenly realized that he was dealing with something bigger then he initially thought. Allura was someone important.

A few minutes later, Matt came over with a mug and a cherry Danish for Allura.

“Figure out what you want?” he asked Keith.

“Just a black tea. Unsweetened.”

“Should have guessed. Be back in a jiffy.” Before Keith could ask Matt what he meant, the barista was off again to get his drink.

Keith sat back and waited for Allura to put down her mug. She hummed quietly, the foam sticking her to lips for a moment before she licked it away. She was stalling and Keith was forgetting how to be patient.

“How do you know my name?” he asked. Allura took a bite out of her Danish and chewed slowly.

“It shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise,” she said calmly. “The Marmora Organization has been around for many years and is quite well known in some circles.”

“So, you work with Marmora.” Keith kept his voice steady, but his heart was hammering in his chest.

“Not exactly. We’ve had our run ins in the past, but we typically avoid each other. Kolivan and I have… different opinions on some very important subjects.”

“And those subjects are…?”

“Oh, let’s see. Most of the Marmora tends to run by the rule ‘finders keepers’, whereas I try to restore lost artifacts to their proper owners. They also are too swift when they enforce punishments on those who they see as evil. While their judgement may be justified, it doesn’t give them the power to take matters into their own hands. I believe you know what I’m talking about, right Keith?”

Oh, he knew. Keith knew exactly what she was talking about and it made his blood turn cold. Sitting in front of him was a woman who clearly knew all about him. She knew his darkest secret, the one that still woke him up at night. Allura _knew_. But, how? How could she possible know something he’d done his best to hide?

Matt had come and gone again, setting down his tea and handing Allura a folder. He left without saying a word.

Did he know too? He was obviously connected to Allura. Hell, Matt probably worked for her. How many people knew?

Keith gripped the edge of the table hard enough that his knuckles turned white.

“I don’t intend to harm you, Keith,” Allura said gently. “In fact, what I said earlier about turning you into the police was a lie. I just wanted to properly motivate you so that I could test your skills.” She opened the folder and hesitantly pulled out a piece of paper with a man’s photo clipped to the corner. She slid it over to Keith.

“Karl E. Bradbury,” she recited. “Age, forty-seven. He worked as a corporate lawyer to the Energex Corporation. He single handedly pushed for the take over and subsequent drilling of land that was suppose protected as a nature reserve as well as the surrounding rural area where many people lived. It was his actions that led to poisoning of the water reservoir and damaging farmland. Many people and animals grew ill due to his actions. Many died. And that is only his most recent crime. Mr. Bradbury had twenty years of depraved actions to his name. ”

“That doesn’t mean I should have killed him,” Keith said bitterly. The memory of that night was clear as day. He could still see the man's horrified expression. He could still feel the warm blood on his hands. It was something he could never forget.

Allura took a back the paper and placed back in the folder. “There are some people out there who might call you a hero. You ended the life a very bad man who only would have caused more harm.”

“You sound like Kolivan. Are you sure you guys aren’t working together?”

“Positive. And I didn’t say I was one of those people.” Allura took a sip of her drink before she spoke again. “How old were you when it happened?”

“Seventeen.”

“And it was your only kill?”

Keith shifted in his seat, glancing around. “Yeah. The only reason I took that first job was because it knocked about ten thousand dollars off of my dad’s debt.”

“Your father’s debt?”

“Yeah. He borrowed a shit ton of money, died before he could pay it back, but someone still had to pay it.”

“I see.” Allura frowned, staring down at her mug.

Keith felt like he was going to slide right out of his skin. He felt dirty almost, like talking about that part of his past tainted him in some way. He just wanted to get up and leave. To run and run and never look back, but he couldn’t. Keith needed to know why Allura was here. He needed to know just what else she knew about him.

“Why didn’t you want to become a Marmora assassin?” Allura asked before Keith think of a question.

“I’m not a killer,” he answered immediately. “Sure, I was pretty desperate to get away, but I didn’t want to lose myself in the process. That man was pretty horrible, yeah, but that doesn’t give me the right to kill him. He should have been made to pay for his crimes.”

“True, but it’s not like smart business men to leave any evidence for the authorities to find.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but the Marmora could have easily dug up dirt on him. They could have ruined his reputation, cleared out his bank accounts, and made his life a living hell in tons of different ways. Not like it’s hard to come up with ideas.”

For some odd reason, Allura had the barest hint of a smile on her face. Keith blinked a few times, wondering if it was a trick of the light or something. But no, she was actually smiling. What the hell?

“I believe I have just made a decision,” she said cryptically.

“Uh… what?”

“Keith, how would you feel if you came and worked for me?”

Keith started at her. “You’re kidding, right?”

“I am not.”

Keith paused, unsure of what to say. 

“Well?”

Keith shook his head and tried not to laugh. “Look, Allura… I don’t have a clue who you are. I have no idea what you do, why you’re trained in combat, why Matt the barista is watching us from the counter in the most obvious way possible—“

Allura’s head whipped around to Matt as she gave him the most intense death glare Keith had ever seen.  The barista ducked behind the coffee grinder.

Keith ran his hands through his hair and sighed. “Look… I don’t know what’s going on. At least tell me who you are.”

“I suppose I did skip a few things.” Allura looked sheepish as she sat up straighter, folding her hands on the table. “My name is Allura Altea and I am in charge of a small group called the Voltron Alliance. We are an organization of elite members who are dedicated to righting wrongs that the regular law enforcement cannot. We steal from those who made their fortunes through underhanded deals and make them pay for their crimes. Essentially, we make their lives hell in any way we can to punish them for wrongdoings the law cannot arrest them for.”

“You… you’re thieves,” Keith said slowly, letting Allura’s words sink in.

“In simple terms, I suppose so. Although, we have dabbled in espionage once or twice. Private contracts and all that. That’s why I wanted to test your combat efficiency. You never know what the next job might bring.”

“But how- how do you even _know_ about me? I’ve been with the Marmora for over a decade. It’s not like they have a roster of who works for them posted on the internet. Their security is insane.”

“Well that is where Matthew comes in.” Allura motioned over her shoulder to where Matt was watching them again. He waved, his smile bright as ever, as if he knew they were talking about him.

“Bullshit.” Keith couldn’t believe that a normal looking guy like Matt had managed to obtain that information. Matt’s smile dropped and a glare took its place.

“I know, it does seem a little strange, but Matt and his sister are some of the best hackers I’ve ever seen. No system is safe from the two them,” Allura assured Keith. Behind her, Keith could see Matt’s demeanor do a complete 180. Oh yeah, he was totally listening to them. There must have been a bug somewhere at the table.

Keith took a long drink from his tea, wishing that they were at a bar instead of a coffee shop. He needed a shot or something to deal with all this insanity. Once he organized his thoughts, he set his drink down.

“Okay. Let me get this straight. You want me, a former Marmora operative that’s only been free for the past week and a half, to come and work for you and your Merry Men, to steal shit from assholes, only to give it away ten seconds later? That is not a very good business plan.”

Allura waved him aside. “Oh we don’t give it all away. Just certain items. Like things of cultural or historical significance. You know how popular it was for invaders to rob graves back in the day. It’s only right that items stole from their homelands are returned. But…”

“But?”

“Well, there are many European monarchies and they have quite a lot of jewels and paintings to their names. They wouldn’t notice if a few go missing from time to time.”

Keith couldn’t help but grin at that. So yeah, Allura had a heart of gold, but she still was a thief. While her moral compass probably wouldn’t give him the fortune to retire at the age of twenty-five, Keith would still be able to make a good amount of money that would see him living comfortably. He could definitely get on board with this.

“Okay. I have one more question.” Allura nodded for him to continue. Keith swallowed before asking. “You know about my history with the Marmora. It sounds like… like you know everything I’ve done. So I guess I just want to know why? Why are you offering me this?”

Allura looked at him with an unreadable expression. Her bright blue eyes fell until they landed on her half eaten Danish. Finally, she spoke.

“We’ve been monitoring the Marmora for a long time. Even when my father was the head of Voltron, they were always on our watch list. We all keep tabs on one another for logistical reasons. It wouldn’t be wise to go after something the Marmora wanted and vice versa. That would start a conflict and although we have different views, neither Kolivan nor I want to start something as senseless as a turf war. Some years ago, Matt noticed a string of thefts that were all carried out by the same person. An agent by the name of Kogane. It seemed like every other day, his name would be mentioned by the few Marmora operatives we tailed. He was gaining quite the reputation, and quickly at that.”

Keith sat motionless as his history was laid out for him by someone one the outside. It was truly astonishing to hear. It was all so different seeing it from an outsider’s perspective. Allura went on.

“I guess you could say Matt and I became curious. We managed to learn more about you and even discovered your name. Keith Kogane. You had all but vanished in the state records, but Matt found hints of you. Your ghost, he would call it. We monitored you, kept a tally of all your thefts and even discovered your one and only kill. It came as quite a shock to all of us when we saw the message: ‘Kogane deactivated’. I thought it was an error at first.”

Allura traced the rim of her mug with her pointer finger, her eyes still downcast.

“I didn’t understand why someone who was so successful in Marmora would just leave. I had never heard of something like that happening before. But I think I understand now.” Finally, Allura looked at him. “You never wanted to be there in the first place.”

Keith’s mouth had gone dry. He nodded slowly, utterly mesmerized by the story she just told. All that time, and there was someone else watching him. Keith had no idea.

Allura sighed, resting her head in her hand. “If that’s the case, then I suppose it’s quiet rude of me to ask you to join yet another underground organization and ask you to steal. I made a decision without having all the facts and hadn’t really thought it all the way through. I’m sorry—“

“I didn’t even give you an answer,” Keith said quickly. Allura looked surprised, watching him with round eyes.

“I assumed… I don’t want you to feel as though you have to consider this job. You’ve barely had time to live a normal life.”

“I’ve had plenty of time.” Keith leaned back in his chair. “Trust me. I’ve seen enough.”

He glanced around the room, taking note of all the people there. Most of the people in the room looked ready to drown themselves in their coffee. 

There was a girl surrounded by a mountain of books who looked like she had been awake for days. A young man was hurrying out the door with three trays of drinks and two bags of pastries in his arms. Even the baristas, excluding Matt, looked tired and drained as they forced smiles on their faces to deal with the next customer in line.

From the corner of his eye, Keith thought he saw a familiar tall frame outside the window. Broad shoulders and beautifully tan skin. Keith looked away before he could get his hopes up. _He_ wasn’t here. The boy with ocean blue eyes and the beaming smile. He was probably all huddled up at home with his family, waiting for the fall semester of school to start. Or maybe he was on vacation at that beach he used to talk about. Varadero? Keith had listened to him talk about it all the time, and could practically envision himself there on the sandy beaches. It always sounded so nice.

There was no way that boy was here now. _He_ had a life and Keith had made sure he wasn’t a part of it anymore. It was probably just his imagination playing tricks on him again.

It hadn’t been very long at all, but Keith was sure that he had seen all he needed to of the real world. Maybe if things had been different, if he’d grown up with Shiro or stayed with the boy with ocean eyes, he would have turned out differently.

However Keith wasn’t one to dwell in the past. This was who he was now. Whether that was a good or a bad thing, Keith didn’t have a clue. But this was his life and he intended to live it the best he could. And Allura’s offer was the best thing he had heard all week.

“I have two conditions,” Keith finally said.

Allura looked a bit skeptical but leaned forward nonetheless. “And those are?”

“I’ll give it a month. If I don’t like it or don’t feel like I fit, I can leave. No questions asked.”

“Of course.” She nodded, her posture relaxing a bit. “I don’t make my team sign contracts or any of that silly nonsense. If you want to leave, you can. At any time.”

“Good.”

“And your second condition?”

“Oh, that…” Keith felt a little embarrassed about this second part, but it had to be done. “If I do decide to work for you I, uh, I need you to convince my friend— um I mean, my brother— that you aren’t like, evil or anything.” 

“…what?”

“What?” Matt had appeared practically out of nowhere and made Keith jump.

After throwing the barista a quick glare, Keith elaborated. “Well, Shiro knows pretty much everything about me, and if he found out I’m going back to thievery he might… no he’ll _definitely_ tie me to a chair and never let me leave the apartment again.”

Surprisingly, Matt nodded. “As an older sibling, I completely understand. I say go for it Allura.”

“Well, it is a bit strange, but alright.” Allura held out her hand. “I agree to uphold your conditions, Keith.”

Keith shook her hand. “Good to hear. So, when do I start?”

“How about now?” Matt asked.

Allura sighed. “I believe you still have an hour left on your shift, Matthew.”

“Oh, yeah… oops.” Matt gathered up the empty mug and hurried off to the counter. Allura shook her head and smiled.

“It may be a bit hard to see now, but Matt is truly a brilliant young man. If you do decide to stay with us, he will be your technical support.”

Keith nodded and turned to watch Matt work. He seemed alright, as far as first impressions go. Of course, there was a big difference between being a nice guy and then being his support during jobs. It was the tech’s job to make sure the operative had a clear window to complete their missions. They had to consider every option, plan for the worse possible scenario, and think quickly to avoid detection.

And currently, Matt was failing to flirt with a customer and looking like a complete fool. This was going to be interesting.

“Well, I suppose we can wait until tomorrow to get started. I have a feeling you have a lot to think about,” Allura said. She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she spoke.

“I do,” Keith confirmed. “Um, how will I get in touch with you?”

“Oh don’t worry about that. Is nine tomorrow morning alright for you?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Shiro was usually left around eight, so it worked perfectly.

“Excellent. Well then, let me walk you to the door.”

Allura got up and led Keith past the counter again. Matt waved, balancing two cups of steaming coffee in one hand. Once outside, Allura hailed him a taxi with ease and handed the driver some cash.

“Are you trying to impress me?” Keith half joked. Really, he was kind of relieved he didn’t have to pay the cab fare. He barely had money to begin with.

Allura smiled. “Of course I am. I just want you to know that I take care of the people who work for me.”

Keith rolled his eyes and chuckled. It was like he was an athlete being scouted. Allura pulled open the door before he could and held it open. Keith slid inside and let her shut it. He tried not to smile when she waved, but couldn’t help but turn and watch as the cab pulled onto the street.

It was kind of surprising how much he was actually considering this, this offer to work for Allura. Keith had never met anyone like her before, and was honestly a little star struck at her sincerity and skills. Because, first things first, Allura was a badass. 

She handled herself incredibly well in the alley, her skills refined and technique incredible. Keith was positive he was going to have a few bruises on his body from more than one of her powerful blows.    

In the coffee shop, she was so intelligent and graceful practically every second of their conversation. She had an air about her that screamed leadership and Keith knew that he’d be happy to follow her orders.

Even when they talked about his past. The one particularly dark spot that Keith tried to hide or ignore, she didn’t judge him. She simply wanted to understand. Keith had always felt that if people knew what he’d done they would turn on him. They would call him a murderer and toss him into the darkness that chased him every day. Keith was horrified when Allura brought it up.

But she didn’t criticize him. She didn’t lash out. Allura presented the facts she knew and waited for his explanation. It was more than Keith thought he’d ever receive.

Even Matt, listening to their conversation across the room, didn’t treat Keith any differently. He was still kind and smiling, still acting normal even though Keith felt anything but.

Maybe it was all just an act. Maybe they secretly judged Keith for the choices he made and just thought he was too valuable an asset to let go. It was possible. Keith was pretty damn good at what he did, but the look on both of their faces when they spoke didn’t seem faked. In fact, both Matt and Allura appeared sad. Not like they pitied him, no, but like they felt bad that Keith had to do those things, make those terrible choices.

 _Sympathy or empathy?_ Keith wondered. He always got the two confused.

The cab pulled up to Shiro’s building and Keith thanked the driver. It didn’t come to a surprise to him that Allura knew where he lived. She probably even knew that he hitchhiked to the city.

Keith made his way up, squeezing past a gaggle of kids as they ran down the stairs. Once inside, Keith kicked off his shoes and flopped onto the couch. He stared at the ceiling, going over every detail of the day.

Eventually Keith’s mind began to wander until he settled on boredom. After deciding to temporarily work for Allura, Keith got a familiar itch under his skin. A pull to adventure that couldn’t be satisfied by sitting on a couch.

Keith got up and circled the living room, swinging his arms over his head and stretching. His eyes landed on his battered copy of _Treasure_ _Island_ , and he picked it up as he passed the coffee table again. Keith sprawled on the floor and flipped open to the first page, reading the opening passage with a fond smile.

 

_TO THE HESITATING PURCHASER_

_If sailor tales to sailor tunes,_

_Storm and adventure, heat and cold,_

_If schooners, islands, and maroons,_

_And buccaneers, and buried gold,_

_And all the old romance, retold_

_Exactly in the ancient way,_

_Can please, as me they pleased of old,_

_The wiser youngsters of today:_

 

_\--So be it, and fall on!  If not,_

_If studious youth no longer crave,_

_His ancient appetites forgot,_

_Kingston, or Ballantyne the brave,_

_Or Cooper of the wood and wave:_

_So be it, also!  And may I_

_And all my pirates share the grave_

_Where these and their creations lie!_

 

Keith always wondered why more books didn’t entice their readers this way. It made the whole adventure sound alluring and exciting. Rereading the page, Keith remembered a time when he was still young and naïve. He remembering thinking that Marmora were like the band of pirates he read about. Going on adventures and stealing gold, it was easy for his young mind mix up the two.

However, being a pirate isn’t all voyages and wealth, just as Keith’s time with the Marmora was anything but easy. And yet here he was, on the brink of falling back into the same life he just escaped. Was it really going to be different? Or was Keith just distracted by colorful words and kind faces? He really didn’t know.

Thankfully, he had a month to figure out if Allura could really be trusted. Keith was far more skeptical than most, but for some reason he felt like he was making the right choice.

Crawling from his place on the floor to the couch, Keith continued to read. A few hours later, Shiro came home.

“Hey, Keith,” Shiro greeted, setting his bike down in its usual spot. “What have you been up to today?”

“Just exploring. Found a cool coffee shop.”

“Oh yeah? Where?”

“Near the college.”

Shiro glanced at him, his backpack hanging off his shoulder. “That’s pretty far. Why did you go all the way over there?”

“I just… got on a random bus and got off when it looked interesting,” Keith lied. Shiro simply laughed, striding over to the couch and ruffling Keith’s hair.

It shouldn’t be so easy to lie to Shiro. If things went well over the next month then he’d have to come clean. But for now, it was best if things were kept a secret. No need to worry the man when Keith wasn’t even sure he was going to take the job.

Dinner was a simple pasta accompanied by some cheesy medical drama playing on the TV. Keith couldn’t fathom why Shiro, an actual nurse in an actual hospital, would like watching something like this. The plot was so convoluted and there were so many different relationships going on, it was a wonder that any work got done in that fictional hospital. 

Around nine, Shiro wandered over to his bedroom and Keith stretched out on the couch. Despite all the excitement from the day, sleep came easy.

 

* * *

 

 

Keith was up early, so he made Shiro a wonderful breakfast of peanut butter on toast, and later threw him his lunchbox from the window when he forgot it on the counter. Keith wandered around the apartment for a while before deciding to tidy up. It could be said that Keith was feeling a little guilty for not telling his brother what he was up to, but he would actively deny that. He just wanted to be a good roommate.

At nine o’clock exactly, the buzzer rang.

“Yeah?” Keith didn’t bother with formalities. He knew who was there.

“Good mornin’. It’s Matt. I come bearing tea and some wonderful company.”

Keith snorted and pressed the intercom again. “Oh, then Allura’s with you?”

“Ha ha, you’re _so_ funny. I can tell we’re going to work well together.”

Keith couldn’t tell if the last part of that was also supposed to be sarcastic. Locking the door behind him, he hurried down the stairs and met Matt on the stoop. The young man smiled and held out a plastic cup and a straw for Keith.

“Thanks.” Keith ripped the paper off the straw and stuffed the trash into his pocket.

“No problem. Ready to get going?”

“I guess. Where are we going, anyway?” 

“It’s a surprise.”

The ‘surprise’, as it turned out, took three buses to reach. At first Keith thought that there was just no direct bus route to their location, but he quickly realized that wasn’t the truth. Matt was up to something. However, Keith couldn’t quiet figure out what that was because the other young man just wouldn’t stop talking.

Matt talked about anything and everything. He shared stories from his various shifts as a barista, unintentionally scaring Keith away from any food service job _ever_. Matt went on about his sister, the new game he had on his phone, the weird infomercial he saw last night, and even what he had planned for lunch later that day. It was almost a relief when Keith was shoved to the side by a woman tripping on her own foot.

The young woman swore as she instinctively grabbed onto Keith’s arm to break her fall. “Ooh, shit! I’m sorry! Didn’t mean to grab you.”

“It’s fine,” Keith replied calmly. He thought about offering a smile, but that was a little too friendly this early in the morning.

She however, did smile and left her hand on his bicep. Her pink nail polish looked like she stuck bubblegum to her fingers. “I think you’re the one who’s fine.”

“Uh— wha..?” 

“Oh, not used to compliments? How cute! But I think I’ll leave you alone for now. Something tells me I’m not quiet your type.” She giggled, finally letting go of Keith’s arm and moving to the back of the bus. In mere seconds, Matt was back at his side.

“You look like a tomato. Don’t flirt much?”

Keith nervously tugged on his hair. “It’s… I don’t know. I’m just not used to it? I guess? Ack, I don’t know.”

“Wow. You get really flustered around pretty girls.”

Keith rolled his eyes. It wasn’t the girl that got him, but just how bold she was. It’s not like he ever had to deal with flirting like that before. However, if it had been a cute boy who grabbed his arm and complimented him, Keith might have actually combusted on the spot.

Not that he was going to tell Matt that. He barely even knew the guy.

A few more minutes passed and the bus was rolling up to their stop. As Keith left, the young woman who bumped into him caught his eye and winked. Keith quickly stepped off the bus and tried not to roll his eyes. Once on the street, Keith realized that they were back at the coffee shop from the day before.

“It doesn’t take three buses to get here.” Keith frowned. Next to him, Matt nodded.

“You’re right, it doesn’t.”

“So what was that all about?”

“Well, you know how Allura tested you yesterday on your combat abilities?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“I’m here to test you on a few other things. After all, the princess may have offered you a job, but we still have to make sure you’re up to par.”

Keith could see the logic behind that. After all, they only knew about his skills through second hand talk. They hadn’t seen him in action.

“Okay, I get that. So, what’s the test?” he asked.

“Information retention.” Matt grinned. Instead of going inside, Matt led him to a tiny quick service restaurant down the street. It didn’t look like it was open, but there were tables and benches scattered on a little patio. Matt sat and pulled a tablet out of his messenger bag. Keith followed his lead and folded his hands on the table.

“Okay, so then that crazy bus ride and all your talking was just to test me?”

“Yep. You know this job. Sometimes you only get to look at information for a second before it’s gone. You’ve got to be able to memorize a lot of things quickly. You never know when something will be relevant.”

“Fair enough.” Keith shrugged. “I’m ready.”

Matt smiled. “Good. Let’s begin.”

Matt asked him everything. Literally everything.

_What street did we get on?_

_What was the number of the second bus?_

_How many people were standing and how many were sitting?_

_The old lady in the back of the first bus, what was she knitting?_

On and on and on, like a merry go round with no breaks. Matt had an endless supply of questions. He didn’t give any hints as to whether or not Keith was answering his questions correctly. And honestly, Keith felt like he wasn’t doing a good job.

He always had been pretty observant. It kind of came hand in hand with being an introvert. Keith would pay more attention to his surroundings than talk to the people around him because that was what he was comfortable with. He was people watcher, an observer of the world around him. And yet he felt like he was the equivalent to a blind potato with all the random shit Matt was asking him.

“Almost done,” Matt said calmly. Keith really had the hardest time reading this guy, and although he genuinely liked Matt, that fact alone was unnerving. “Alright, the girl who bumped into you on the bus, is her hair naturally blond or is it dyed?”

 _What the fuck kind of question is that?_ Keith slouched in his seat, utterly annoyed. He answered nonetheless. “Bottle job. Her roots were brown.”

Matt tapped something on his tablet. “What color was her nail polish?”

“Pink.”

“And her shoes?”

Keith thought for a moment, trying to remember. “Uh… I think they were black? Definitely heels, though. The sound is hard not to notice.”

Matt hummed, that carefully crafted expression still on his face. Keith felt his eye twitch.

After a few moments, Matt shook his head. A small smile crept up on his face. “ _Damn_ … I got to say, I’m impressed, Keith.”

“Huh?”

“I mean it. Some of those questions were really stupid, but you still answered them all. It wasn’t all correct of course; I mean how the hell are you supposed to know what cologne that guy was wearing? Still, you got over ninety percent. Our top guy only got an eighty-seven.”

Keith felt a little thrum of excitement at that. It felt good being praised, even if it was over something like this. And that little bit information sparked his competitive spirit.

“Well, if I decide to take Allura up on her offer, you might have a new top guy.”

Matt laughed, tossing his head back. “Oh man, I would love to see that happen. Not that I don’t like Lance, but damn he loves to brag. It can get annoying after a while.” 

Keith chuckled a little, ignoring the way his chest seized at hearing that familiar name.

It’s not like it was the first time he ran into another ‘Lance’. It was a pretty common name, after all. Even with that knowledge it didn’t stop the rush of emotions that washed over him. It had been three years, and still Keith was hung up on that boy. Not like he had any right to be. He is the one who left after all.

Matt either didn’t notice or didn’t comment on Keith’s sudden silence. He simply pulled up his bag and slipped his tablet back inside. “Alright, we still have one more thing to do before we head over to headquarters. Allura has one more test she’d like to run.”

“Okay.”

“And speaking of Lance, he’d supposed to help us out.” Matt pulled his phone out of his pocket and rolled his eyes. “And he’s running late. As usual.”

“You sure this guy is your best?” Keith joked.

“Surprisingly, yeah. On mission, he’s all business. Really good at analyzing a situation and coming up with plans on the fly. During our down time he’s a little…well, you’ll see.”

Keith couldn’t help but be curious about this guy. It sucked that he shared a name with someone from Keith’s past, but maybe this would help him get over it. Maybe he would begin to forget the old Lance and befriend this new one. Maybe that name wouldn’t be weighed down with memories anymore.

Or maybe not.

A voice called out Matt’s name, the sound coming from somewhere behind Keith. It was a voice that couldn’t be drowned out by honking cars or pounding footsteps. It was too damn loud for that. Loud and very familiar.

Keith tried to swallow past the dry lump in his throat. It felt like he was going to choke and die right there.

It was impossible, right? There was no way that _he_ was here. That he was the same Lance Matt mentioned a while ago. The odd were insurmountable.  And yet that familiar voice called out again, much closer this time. So close, that all Keith had to do was turn and he could have his fears confirmed.

“There you are.” Matt stood, putting his hands on his hip like a parent ready to scold their child.

“Matt! Matty Matt, I can explain.”

Keith stared at the table, refusing to look up. His heart was beating so loud it was like a drumline was parading down the street.

“Last time you said it was because you found a puppy in an alley and had to take it to the animal hospital.”

“I did find a puppy!”

“Hah! I lied! You said it was cat!”

“I-I…what the damn hell? That was tricky, Matt. Very smooth, making me mess up. Color me impressed.” 

“With marker or crayons?”

“Colored pencils, you heathen.”

“This could go on for a while,” Matt relented with a tired sigh. Then, much to his horror, Matt turned to Keith. “Lance, I want you to meet the new guy. Well, he’s not the new guy yet, but I have a feeling he’s going to say yes.”

Lance scoffed. “As if anyone could say no to Allura. I couldn’t say yes fast enough when she offered me the gig. Name’s Lance. What was your name, again?”

Keith waited for as long as he could, staring at the table like it could save him from this moment.

He never thought he’d see Lance again, let alone like this.

Lance was just the boy he met in high school. A school that he didn’t even intend to go to. It was an accident, a fluke, an incredibly random amount of circumstances that landed him in Arizona, attending high school for less than one school year.

It was there that he met Lance. The boy with ocean blue eyes and a smile that could only be called dazzling. He was loud and popular and had no reason to even look Keith’s way, but he had and Keith was smitten.

Life got in the way. Keith’s double life, specifically. So he left Arizona, he left Lance, without so much as a goodbye. He didn’t turn back.

Now, three years later, Lance was staring at him. His blue eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar. Keith felt like his heart was going to jump right out of his chest and stick to the warm pavement below, like a smear of gum someone threw out.

This was his moment to say something. Something to make up for disappearing without a word. Keith gripped his jeans, bunching up the fabric and wracking his brain for the right words. But before he could think of anything good, Lance’s expression transformed from surprised to completely indifferent. His ocean blue eye froze over and in an instant, Keith realize that the damage was far too great.

Lance shifted his weight to one side and crossed his arms. He looked down at Keith like he was a stranger. “Has anyone ever told you that you’ve got a very outdated haircut?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somethings I forgot to mention:  
> -this is a pre Kerbros look for Shiro. So no scar and no metal arm.....yet.  
> -Marmora is kind of simliar to the League of Shadows from Batman. the type of organization that does whatever is nesscary for the greater good. However, most of their good ideals have fallen by the wayside. 
> 
> Okey doke thats it. I hope you all liked it. Thanks for reading!!
> 
>  
> 
> [fic playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7NCqaPlsQZbK0VVgTYwxhiz6CMAuw65w)


	3. Somewhere Somehow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a place off Ocean Avenue  
> Where I used to sit and talk with you  
> We were both 16 and it felt so right  
> Sleeping all day, staying up all night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from the song [Ocean Avenue](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsNwlqPm384) by Yellowcard.
> 
> Fair warning, [annaliya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalyia/pseuds/annalyia) said i made her cry :D

**Three years ago. Phoenix, Arizona. Garrison High School.**

It started something like this:

Keith Kogane— or as he had falsely registered— Keith Yuen, was sixteen years old. He stared up at Garrison High with utter disdain. Blame it on teenage rebellion, but Keith did not understand the reason behind going to school at this point in his life. Schools came with fees. Fees he didn’t have money to pay for, fees that would only add to his debt and keep him trapped as a tool for the Marmora that much longer. And yet despite all his protests, despite his perfectly valid reasons, here he was. A backpack on his shoulder and a class list in his hands. He was going to high school.

“Don’t look so grumpy. Your face will get stuck like that.” Thace leaned out the car window as he spoke. He had been the one to organize all of this, the jerk. Keith groaned and let his bag slip from his shoulder.

“Do I have to?”

“Yes.”

“But why? You’ve been my teacher for years.”

“I don’t think I could actually qualify as a teacher.  Besides, you know that I can’t do that anymore,” Thace said calmly. Unfortunately, it was true. Thace was being sent away on some secret mission that required his personal brand of espionage. A mission that he would not return from.

Had Keith known that at the time, he might have acted differently. Maybe said something kinder. After all, Thace was the one person he actually liked in the Marmora. Without orders, Thace taught Keith how to cook and take care of himself, how to throw knives, and treat minor wounds. Thace even brought books he found from local libraries so that Keith could have a basic education. Chemistry and biology, world history and math. Granted, Keith didn’t put too much effort into learning those things, but it was the thought that counted.

However, as Keith stood in front of the building that he was going to be stuck in for hours a day, he felt a certain contempt for the man. Keith also realized that he was in no way prepared for actual school.

“Take me back to base.” He stared Thace in the face and tried not to sound too desperate.

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“I could just leave, y’know. It’s not like this place has any good security.”

Thace drummed his fingers against the steering wheel and nodded. “You could. But, if I remember correctly, I listed Ulaz as your uncle. I don’t think he’d appreciate it if the school called him to say that you ditched class.”

Keith’s frown got even deeper. Ulaz was okay, but he had little tolerance for anyone besides Thace and Antok. Just last week he got into a fist fight with Haxus because the latter claimed to be a better hacker. Even Kolivan, their leader, had a hard time getting along with Ulaz sometimes.

Thace listed Ulaz as insurance. To make sure that Keith actually went to school. It was smart and also so damn frustrating.

Keith turned around and leaned against the hood of the car. His eyes wandered over the school campus. The first bell had rung long ago and all the students were already in their first class. Thace had called ahead, telling the teachers that he would be late.

“Why do I even have to go here?” Keith mumbled.

There was a sigh and then the engine turned off. Thace stayed seated in the car as he spoke. “Just look at this like an opportunity.”

“An opportunity for what?”

“To live a normal life.”

Keith turned, confused. Nobody, not even Thace talked about how unfair Keith’s whole situation was. It was like a taboo to Keith, something that he didn’t bring up or even think about when he was around the others. The circumstances of his work with Marmora were glossed over completely, like it wasn’t even real. And yet, Thace had always been different.

“What… what do you mean?” Keith asked quietly.

There was a long pause before Thace spoke again. “How much more do you have left?”

“What?”

“Your debt. How much?”

Keith rattled off the number instantly. He always knew the exact total. “Fifty four thousand three hundred and eighty four.”

Thace hummed. “I’d say you have another six years if you continue at this rate. So that would make you..?“

“Twenty-two. I’ll be twenty-two by the time I’m out.”

Another pause, longer this time.

“Thace?”

“Hm?”

“I hate this, but thanks.”

Thace chuckled quietly. “You're welcome. The others… Kolivan and Zarkon especially, they don’t think about life outside of Marmora. It’s all they see, all they can focus on. But that’s not all there is to the world. I know you’re going to leave as soon as you can and I wanted to make sure you had a little clue of what the world was like. It’s not much, but it’s all I could do.” 

Keith felt a warmth in his chest, the likes of which he hadn’t felt in years.  He knew it wasn’t smart to grow attachments, not with his current lifestyle, but Keith felt like he had someone he could trust for the first time in years. And while he could trust members of Marmora with his life, there was major difference between helping someone out of obligation and helping because you wanted to.

Thace cared more about who he was off mission, where the others only paid attention to the person he was in the middle of a job. It was something Keith never realized until Thace was long gone.

Picking up his bag from where he dropped it, Keith clutched his class schedule and began walking purposefully towards the campus.

“See you, Keith,” Thace called out. The car thrummed to life moments later. Keith didn’t turn back, but threw his hand up in the air for a quick wave.

And that was the last time Keith ever saw Thace.

However, it was also the day something truly remarkable began. Something Keith never thought he’d experience in his life.

Love.  

 

* * *

 

 Seeing that he hadn’t attended a real school since he was ten, Keith was overwhelmed by the sheer idea of high school. Luckily, he was only a week late to the start of the semester, so he hadn’t really missed all that much in terms of classes.

He entered his first class, biology, and quickly felt underprepared. Everyone was looking at him. As the teacher welcomed him to class and handed him a book and worksheet, eyes followed his every move. Curious gazes bore into his very soul, making Keith feel like he was a target.

As soon as he got to his desk, Keith slumped down in the seat and let his bangs fall into his face. He wished they were able to hide more.

The teacher was nice and had buckets of enthusiasm. She flitted back and forth from her podium to the white board, all the while pointing out examples in their textbooks. Keith half listened, but most of the hour was spent flipping through the book on his desk.

There was so much he didn’t know. So much that he would need to catch up on in order to pass his classes. It didn’t matter that he could identify a fake diamond from a real one at a glance. In this world, he was perfectly average— strike that, below average.

Keith couldn’t decide if he was horrified or excited by that prospect.

The bell rang and all the students suddenly swarmed to the door to get to their next class. Keith pulled out his schedule, even though he had already memorized it, and followed his fellow students.

The noise in the halls were incredible, and not in a good way. There were so many voices, all colliding and crashing against one another. It was like dozens of fireworks going off at one time, all of them competing for attention, but just getting lost in the chaos.

Keith lost count of how many times he was pushed, shoved and stepped on. One particular instance with a hulking guy in a letterman’s jacket nearly had Keith putting the guy in a headlock, but thankfully, reason and common sense won out.

The big jock and his posse seemed to enjoy making people get out of their way. Keith wasn’t the only one shoved into the lockers lining the hall, but he was certainly the most angry. Some of the other people who received the same treatment looked almost apologetic, like it was their fault for simply walking down the hall. Keith felt his temper spike.

Before he could do anything, the warning bell rang. Keith and everyone else still in the hall hurried to their classrooms.

Next was math, followed by US History, humanities, and then lunch. After a tantalizing selection of pizza, cookies, and French fries (there was more, but Keith didn’t even bother looking. He knew it wasn’t going to be any better), Keith had two more classes to round out the day.

Thace had mentioned signing him up for an elective, and Keith wanted to kill the man when he realized that he’d been signed up for Beginning Art. The classroom was filled with wet canvases and half hardened sculptures, all the while a lingering smell of paint floated in the air. Not only that, but he was one of the only upperclassmen there. The rest were all freshmen. Keith made a metal note to look up the other electives and see if he could switch.

The last class of the day was Spanish 1, and Keith couldn’t be happier that day was drawing to a close. Of course, that feeling vanished as soon as he sat down. The teacher didn’t even wait for the final bell before she began speaking in rapid-fire Spanish. Keith glanced around, wondering if he was in the wrong class by accident.

It seemed that most of the other students were just as lost as he was and stared at their teacher with wide, confused eyes.

Then, as quickly as a light being switched, she changed over to English.

“Ah, I see we have a couple of new faces this week. _Bienvenido!_ Welcome, welcome and don’t look so scared.” She grinned, her eyes settling on Keith for a moment before moving on. “As a bit of a reminder to you all, as well as letting you new students know, to familiarize yourself with a new language, most of this class will be taught _in Spanish_. Now, I will go easy on you these first few weeks, but don’t fall behind. I have high expectations for all of you.” 

It was clear that her pleasant features were just a cover. This woman meant business and wasn’t going to let any of them slack off. Keith felt another wave of anxiety crash over him. And then things got worse.

The teacher, Mrs. Saad, decided that the best way to start the school year was with a project. A partner project. 

Keith had never wanted to run more in his entire life. His eyes darted around the room, looking for something that could get him out.

Maybe he could pull the fire alarm? No, that was on the opposite side of the room. He couldn’t get there without being noticed.

He could say that he needed to use the restroom? Then all he had to do was bolt off campus and he was free. But then Mrs. Saad would notice his absences and the school would call Ulaz.

Was there no end to this torture?

“… and then Mr. Yuen, you will be paired with Mr. McClain.”

Keith’s head shot up. During his little episode, Mrs. Saad had been assigning partners. Keith’s panic was curbed slightly when he realized that he didn’t have to pick his partner himself. At least he was saved the embarrassment of being picked last in Spanish class.

In the desk next to him, a boy with tan skin and chipped purple nail polish waved. Keith stared dumbly, slowing raising his hand to wave back. The boy snorted, clearly laughing at Keith.

“ _Bueno_. Now that you all have your partners, we’re going to have a little get to know you session. Open your books to page fourteen, _por favor_.”

Page fourteen had a handful of simple Spanish phrases and their responses. Mrs. Saad instructed them to use these phrases to begin conversations and get to know their partner. Keith felt his throat dry as he stared at the confusing words on the page.

“ _Ho-la_.” The boy, his partner, had turned in his seat so that he was facing Keith. He had a wide smile on his face and seemed perfectly at ease with talking to a stranger. Also his accent was terrible. He pronounced ‘hola’ like it was two separate words. Hoe + La. Keith was an amateur at best but he knew the basics. Not only that, but it was clear Keith was the exact opposite of his partner.

 _An extrovert._ Keith realized. _My worst enemy._

He glanced down at the page and replied. “Uh, hola?”

“ _Me llamo, Lance. Y tú?_ ” Accent slightly better, but still sounded like a bad television reporter.

“Um… _me llamo_ … Keith?”

“Nice to meet you, Keith.” Lance grinned. Suddenly, he leaned close and Keith felt his heart start to pound. “Can you keep a secret, Keith?”

“Huh?”

“A secret. An important secret. One that is a matter of national security.”

Keith blinked, confused. “Um, I guess?”

Lance studied him for a moment before nodding. “Good. Keith. I have to tell you…” He leaned in closer, so close that Keith could pick out the different flecks of blue in his eyes. “I… Lance McClain… am fluent in Spanish.”

“…what.”

“You can’t tell anyone!” he said in a rush. A few other students turned to look, but most just rolled their eyes at Lance.

Keith was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Lance was fluent in Spanish, and yet he was taking a beginning language course. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Also, did this mean he was faking that bad accent? It seemed like a lot of unnecessary work to Keith.

“Uh, okay?”

“Good. Now,” Lance looked back at his text book and read. “ _Dónde vives?_ ” 

“Wait a sec, you didn’t explain why.” 

“Why what?”

“Why are you in this class?”

Lance shut his book with a snap and propped his chin up on his elbow. “Well because we’re required to take a language course, duh. And I just didn’t feel like taking French. I can get an easy A in this class, so long as I don’t let the teacher lady know that I can already speak Spanish.”

And… yeah okay, Keith could understand that. Besides, this also worked to his advantage too. With Lance as his partner, this project was going to be a breeze.

“But don’t think that means you can cheat off me.” Lance wagged his finger at Keith, a playful smile on his face. “After this project, you’re on your own.”

Keith smirked. Apparently this guy wasn’t too bright. “Oh yeah?”

“Yep.”

“Then what motivation do I have to keep your secret?” Keith couldn’t keep the shit eating grin off his face. Lance looked dumbfounded at his obvious mistake. He blinked a few times before leveling a glare at Keith that made the boy stifle a laugh. “Looks like I’m the winner here, Lance.”

“Don’t get too cocky, Keith. I could very easily mess you up. I could convince you that ‘ _perro_ ’ means ‘pencil’.”

“Doesn’t that mean ‘dog’?”

“O-kay, that was on me. That was pretty basic.”

“I feel like this whole situation is your fault.”

“… touché, new guy. Touché.”

Keith laughed quietly as Lance turned around in his seat. For a moment, he was worried that Lance might have actually been a little angry at him, but Keith noticed a little smirk on Lance’s lips. As Mrs. Saad regained control over the class, Keith caught himself looking at Lance every so often. His attention would drift like he was drawn to that playful smile and carefree voice. Those two things usually didn’t matter to Keith, but then again, he never really had a moment to stop and take it all in.

And another odd thing, talking to Lance was probably the easiest thing Keith had ever done.

 _That’s… not normal. Not for me at least,_ he thought while watching Lance tap his pencil against his desk.

The last class of the day flew by with Lance sitting next to him. They didn’t talk much more after their introduction, but Keith felt grounded somehow with the other boy at his side. It was small, but it felt good just knowing someone else’s name inside the giant school.

 

* * *

 

 Keith’s thoughts were racing as he counted out sit ups. Zarkon had him doing at least a hundred a day and the madman was a little more than annoyed that Keith was going to school. His trainer was a brutal man, big and intimidating. Unlike Keith, Zarkon wasn’t much for stealth, which it why he hadn’t been on an assignment in months.

Zarkon liked to throw his weight around, liked to be feared. Because of that, he handled the dirtier side of business. Things that Keith actively ignored like the drug trade or the smuggling of artifacts across country borders, and even assassinations. Zarkon wasn’t built for quiet missions in the shadows. He was all power. And for some reason, he was trying to instill that power in Keith.

“Pull ups,” Zarkon huffed as soon as Keith finished his drill. The boy hopped up, not wasting a second before stepping up to the bar. He shook his arms out and grabbed the bar, crossing his ankles as he started his circuit.

The truth of the matter was that Zarkon had plans for Keith. Plans that would be put into action very soon. Zarkon had been interested in finding a candidate for his division for some time and found the perfect one in Keith. He was small and not as intimidating as his other operatives, but had the potential to be just as deadly. Zarkon saw potential in Keith the first time he laid eyes on him. With Kolivan’s permission, Zarkon began teaching Keith how to properly fight and building his skills.

He still hadn’t told the boy what he was training for.

Keith finished his pull ups seven seconds faster than the day before. It had been a steady progress, but progress nonetheless. Keith noticed his increase in strength and, although he didn’t like Zarkon, he couldn’t say that his methods weren’t working.

After another hour of training, Zarkon dismissed him and Keith was left on his own.

The apartment he was staying at was tiny and shitty. The building was owned by Marmora and was used for agents like him. People who needed temporary housing and the bare minimum to survive. Below the building was the Marmora base, hidden in a network of complicated tunnels. There were many facilities like this one across the world, all of which served the Marmora Organization and its different branches. Keith always thought it was kind of funny that everyone in the world was oblivious to their presence. It was like he was in on some big joke or something and everyone else was too dense to understand the punch line.

It was easier to think of things that way.

Keith took a quick shower after his workout and then spread his text books out on his futon.  He had a lot to catch up on.

 

* * *

 

 Between attending school and his training with Zarkon, Keith had found a weird sort of balance in his life. He had a routine, a schedule to follow, and for once he felt comfortable where he was. Of course, he wasn’t content.

Every other weekend, Keith was out of town. Following tips from Ulaz, he continued to pay off his debt by taking on small jobs. By grabbing a safety deposit box here, breaking into a mansion there, he was still working hard to earn his freedom.

Despite leading a double life, things were going pretty well. He didn’t have any friends at school, but that was a personal preference. Keith wasn’t too sure how long he would be in Arizona, and didn’t want to grow attached. He got along okay with some of the students in his classes and, hell, he even decided to stay in art because it was so vastly different from anything he’d ever done. All and all, things were good.

And then there was Lance.

Lance had somehow missed the fact that Keith was an introverted person. His loud personality could be a little overwhelming, but it was fine in small doses. It actually helped tremendously with their partner project when they had to present it a few weeks later. But then Lance started showing up outside of class.

Keith always opted to sit alone at lunch. He’d sit outside near the picnic tables, laying back on a planter while he read or munched on his food. He’d read his text books multiple times at this point, and finally felt confident about taking on his school work.

One day, while Keith was reading ahead in _The Agony and the Ecstasy_ , he was interrupted by a booming voice.

“So, this is where you hide!” Keith jumped as Lance bounded into his line of sight. He sat up quickly, dropping his book in the process.

“Whoa, didn’t mean to surprise you.” Lance dusted off Keith’s book before handing it back to him. Keith in turn, stared at him with wide eyes. “For a while there, I was beginning to think you didn’t actually go here. I mean, I never see you outside of Spanish. I thought my new friend was a ghost.” 

Keith slowly took the book out of Lance’s hand, still trying to comprehend the boy standing in front of him.

A little ways behind Lance, a small group of people were watching him curiously. A girl with short, cropped red hair called out to him. “Lance, you coming?”

“Nah, I’ll catch you guys later.”

She shrugged and glanced at Keith, giving him an odd look. Keith didn’t like the attention.

Lance sat down as his friends left, shrugging his bag off his shoulder and setting it on the ground. “Do you eat out here every day?” he asked casually.

“Uh, yeah. It’s a nice spot.” Keith gripped the book in his hands, running his finger up and down the spine.

“It’s quiet.”

“That’s not really a bad thing.” Keith shrugged.

Lance tilted his head ever so slightly. “You like the quiet?”

“Yes? You don’t?”

“Hell no. When it’s quiet, I’m left alone with my thoughts. And trust me, that is not a good thing.”

“Why?”

“Well, the last time I was left alone in the quiet, I came up with the idea to ride my brother’s skateboard off the roof of my house and into the pool. It worked, surprisingly, but I seriously thought my mom was going to murder me.” 

Keith blinked, trying to figure out if that was a true story. Before he could come to a conclusion, Lance’s attention landed on Keith’s book.

“What are you reading?” he asked.

“Something for class.”

“What class?”

“Humanities.”

“Ugh, with Mr. Kahn? My sister had him two years ago. She said he was super awkward and boring.”

Keith shrugged, but the description actually fit his teacher fairly well. “The book is pretty good though. It’s about Michelangelo. “

“The ninja turtle?”

“The what?”

“Y’know, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Michelangelo? Mikey?” Lance kept going, but Keith’s confusion only grew. “Hold the phone. You’ve never heard of TMNT?” 

“Is… that a TV show?” Keith asked hesitantly. He had never had cable as a child and whenever he was at Shiro’s house, his parents usually kept the TV off. They were pretty strict when it came to that sort of thing.

Lance looked utterly appalled at Keith’s answer. “Is that a TV show? It’s only the show of my childhood! And also a collection of some terrible yet awesome live action movies. Except for the stuff with Megan Fox. That shit can die.”

Keith didn’t know what to do or what to say. Lance was chatting with him like they’d known each other for years, but in fact it had only been a couple months. What was he supposed to do? What could he do? Keith couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable sitting next to someone as vibrant as Lance. It was nothing against him, but Keith didn’t want to draw attention to himself. He was much more comfortable with being a wallflower.

Suddenly, Lance turned to Keith. “Dude. You have to come over and watch some.”

“Some… what?”

“Turtles, man! Turtles! C’mon, ask your parents if you can come over this weekend. I can educate you on the weirdness that is Ninja Turtles. I don’t have the show, but my brother has the old movies. We could watch those.”

“I can’t this weekend. Sorry.” And he really couldn’t. As soon as the bell rang on Friday, Keith was going to hop on a plane to California. There were some valuable old Hollywood movie props that were up for grabs. It was a niche market when it came to selling, but still pretty lucrative.

Lance deflated a bit, but he wasn’t deterred. “Next time, then. Trust me, these movies are something you need to see.”   

“Uh, I guess I’ll take your word for it.”

“Cool. See ya later, Keith!” Lance hopped up and grabbed his bag. He strode towards the cafeteria, running into a few people he knew on the way. Keith watched as Lance joked and smiled at his friends, seamlessly fitting into their group as they all shuffled inside the building.

It didn’t seem real that a person like that should be talking to Keith. He didn’t do anything to stand out, didn’t try to make friends. The only reason Lance even knew his name was because of that project.

 _Or maybe… maybe we would have become friends anyway?_ Keith wondered.

Lance seemed like the kind of guy who at least tried to make friends with everyone. He was just that genuinely nice. So maybe they would have ended up friends anyway. Even without having to work together.

That thought alone made Keith smile.

“See you… Lance.”

 

* * *

 

 It had been a particularly rough weekend for Keith. He had taken Monday and Tuesday off, but begrudgingly went back to school on Wednesday. His whole body felt sore and there was a nasty scrape on his right hand that stung whenever he moved. It made writing all the more difficult.

It was the beginning of November, Keith had turned seventeen (unbeknownst to most of his classmates) and he had taken on a large job for some baffling reason. Keith flew all the way to Venice to grab a painting, but unfortunately the police caught wind of their presence and cut his robbery short. Keith had gotten away, but in his haste to escape, he misjudged a jump between rooftops and ended up colliding with the building. He still managed to get away but had to take a few extra days off to recover.

His excuse to his teachers? Bike accident. He even had Ulaz fake a doctor’s note.                    

Still, everything sucked as Keith went about his day. There were bruises all along his side that throbbed when moved too much. His only saving grace was art where his teacher let him lay on the couch he had in the corner for the entire hour.

Then came Spanish class.

Before he even made it inside, Lance caught Keith right in front of the door and playfully elbowed him in the side. Right on top of his bruise.

Keith hissed in pain, trying to stay quiet. “Son of a—”

“Whoa, dude are you okay?” Lance immediately looked worried, his blue eyes wide.

“Yeah I’m fine. Just… sore.”

Lance held the door open for him. “Sore? What happened? Is that why you were gone for two days.”

Keith felt a little thrill that Lance was so concerned about him. He tried to push those feeling down. “I crashed my bike over the weekend. Landed kind of hard.”

“Whoa, really? Are you okay?”

“Bruised and I scraped my hand, but I’m fine.”

The two boys sat down in their seats near the back, quietly talking as the last bell rang. “Dang, that sucks. And here I come along just elbowing you when you’re practically dying.”

“I’m not dying, Lance.” Keith rolled his eyes.

“Dude I would be playing this up. You should see if you can get a wheelchair. Then I could roll you around.”

“I do not want you in charge of my wheelchair.”

“I am offended that I am not at the top of your list of wheelchair pushers.”

“You aren’t even at the bottom,” Keith smirked.

“ _Rude_.” 

As they continued their conversation, Mrs. Saad dove right into the lesson. The teacher noticed the two boys near the back of the class, laughing and chatting, and as any teacher would she decided to interrupt them.

“ _Me pregunto qué podría ser más importante que la clase, señor McClain?_ ”

Without missing a beat, Lance responded in perfect Spanish. “ _Solo me estoy asegurando de que mi amigo esté saludable, Señora Saad._ ”

The whole class was dead silent. Keith was staring at Lance, trying desperately not to burst out laughing at the look on the other boys face. For his part, it took Lance much longer than it should have to realize his mistake, but when it hit him it was the funniest thing Keith had even seen.

“ _Mierda,_ ” Lance hissed under his breath.

“Mr. McClain.” Mrs. Saad leveled him with an intimidating glare. “I believe you’re in the wrong class. I think a trip to the principal’s office will help you sort out your schedule.”

“ _Sí, Señora,_ ” he groaned. Lance dragged himself out of his chair, his bag clutched in his hands. The rest of the class watched him go. Most of them looked just as amused as Keith was. Lance turned just as he reached the door, “Um… _lo siento?_ ”

“ _Ir a la directora ahora._ ”

“Um right! Bye!” With that, Lance quickly ran out the door.

As soon as the door closed on Lance, a few of the students laughed. Keith couldn’t remember the last time he smiled so much. It hurt his cheeks, but it wasn’t a bad kind of hurt. In fact, it felt good.

Mrs. Saad shot him a disapproving look before returning to her lesson. Keith grimaced as he finally realized that he was going to have to go through Spanish alone now.

_Now he would have to go through class alone._

The thought repeated over and over until the happy feeling bubbling in his chest dried up and withered away. Without seeing Lance in class, there was no guarantee that he’d see him at all. Lance had only come up to Keith a few times during lunch. Most of the time he was with his own group of friends. A large group that didn’t need quiet weirdos like him.

Keith’s palm stung as he scribbled in the margins of his text book. This week was just getting worse.

When the day finally ended, Keith slowly hoisted himself up from his seat and tried not to move too fast. Due to his injuries, Ulaz had recommended that Keith take a few days off from training. Zarkon didn’t like the suggestion, but begrudgingly agreed. Keith just knew that he’d be working double time to make up for the missing days once he was fully healed.

With a rare free afternoon, Keith dragged his feet to the door, well after most of the students left. As soon as he stepped outside, Lance was there.

“…Lance?” Keith frowned, utterly confused.

“Oh, hey! I was waiting for you.” He grinned brightly, blue eyes shining.

“Really? Why?”

“Why? Uh, maybe because I wanted to? Dude you are so funny sometimes.”

Keith gulped. He wasn’t sure what to say or even why his heart seemed to speed up so suddenly. Lance was just so… _Lance_.

“Hey, before my mom hears about my little trip to the office and I’m grounded, want to come over to my house?” Lance dug his hands in his pockets, shifting back on his heels a bit.

Was he…was he _blushing_?

“I can’t I—” before he could give him typical answer, Keith remembered that he was free from training. “Actually, for once, I’m free after school.”

“So…is that a yes?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll come over.”

“Awesome!” Lance was beaming, a smile so bright that it could be called blinding. Keith felt his heart stutter and his face suddenly got warm.

Lance grabbed his arm and tugged him down the hall. “C’mon, I live really close.”

In fact, Lance lived very close. He lived in the neighborhood just across the street from the school. Lance’s house had a huge front yard, with toys scattered everywhere. The front door was wide open and Keith could see kids running and playing inside. In a flash, three children bounded out the front door and rolled into the grass. Music echoed from inside the house, accompanied by a female voice shouting.

Lance leaned over to Keith to explain. “That’s my sis you hear yelling. And these little bits are her kids”

They walked up to the house and were instantly spotted by the trio of kids. Now that they were close, Keith realized that they were triplets.

“Lance!”

“You’re back!”

“Who’s that?”

Three little figures barreled into Lance, but the tall boy managed to stay standing. Keith hung back, watching Lance and his family from a few paces behind. The three kids, two boys and a girl, were talking a mile a minute and Keith had a hard time keeping up. Lance didn’t seem to have that problem.

“Hey! How are my favorite little kids today?”

“Are we really your favorite?” the little girl asked.

“Of course! Don’t tell your cousins. It’s our secret.” 

“Okay!” She grinned, showing off a missing tooth.

“Lance, Lance!” One of the boys tugged Lance’s hand. “Who’s that?”

“Oh, that’s my friend from school, Keith. Don’t tackle him tho’, he got hurt fighting a dragon.”

All three kids turned to Keith in awe. In a flash, the triplets abandoned Lance and started circling Keith like a swarm of very excited sharks. Keith froze, staring at the kids, at a complete loss of what to do. They were all talking so fast and jumping around, he didn’t know if he should try to talk to them or just let them keep going until they eventually tired out.

Before he could panic too much, Lance pulled Keith out of the frenzy and told them get on with their game. To Keith’s surprise, the triplets listened and immediately went back into whatever game they were playing.

Keith followed Lance inside where they passed a woman with the same dusty brown hair as Lance. She said a quick hello before heading outside to keep an eye on her children. Lance simply shrugged and kept walking through his house. Keith, on the other hand, couldn’t stop looking around.

Lance’s home was exactly like the boy himself. It was bright and open, the walls painted in vibrant colors with mismatching picture frames everywhere. The furniture looked well-worn and there were toys and books left on the cushions.

Keith walked slowly through the living room, following Lance as he wandered into the kitchen. The cabinets were all a dark wood with mismatching handles. The fridge was covered in magnets with more photos and drawings hanging from them. Lance set his bag on the counter and opened a cupboard piled high with snacks.  

“Make yourself at home, dude.” Lance pointed to the family room across from the kitchen. There was a large TV with a wide ‘L’ shaped couch in front of it. Two bookshelves surrounded the screen and were loaded up with movies.

Keith went to the couch and took off his backpack, sitting down slowly to avoid aggravating his bruises. His eyes kept wandering over every little detail of the space. From the abundance of kids’ movies on the shelf to the patio doors looking out to the backyard, Keith memorized everything he could.

“Want anything to drink?” Lance called from the kitchen.

“Um, water’s fine.”

“Bo-ring.” Lance sing-songed. Keith rolled his eyes.

Moments later, Lance plopped down on the couch with a bowl of chips tucked in his arm and two glasses. He set them all on the table.

“What should we do?” Lance asked.

“You… don’t have a plan?” Keith frowned, idly tracing the scrape on his palm.

“Not really? I mean, we could watch the Ninja Turtles movie if you want? It’s pretty ridiculous, but I think you’d like it.”

“Um, alright.”

Lance nodded, leaning back against the cushions. “Cool. Cooool…cool.” 

Keith stared at Lance as an awkward feeling filled the air. He glanced around for a moment, sitting in quiet as he waited.

“Lance?” Keith eventually broke the silence.

“Yeah?”

“Shouldn’t you go get the movie?”

“Huh? Oh, shit! Y-yeah, I should um, I should get that, huh? I’ll be right back.” Lance scrambled to his feet, practically sprinting towards the staircase behind them.

Keith watched him go, a breathless chuckle leaving his lips. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say that Lance was nervous. But Lance had nothing be nervous about. Keith was just Keith. Nothing more, nothing less.

If anything, he was the nervous one. Keith had never been over to a friend’s house before. He never really had friends before. There were a few people who stuck out in his mind from when he was in elementary school, but their names had faded along with their faces. Keith knew that he wasn’t always alone, but it felt that way sometimes. Sitting in a house that was so full of life was just…strange.

Keith felt anxious sitting on the worn couch, the cushion under him sagging from so much use. There were signs of happiness everywhere, signs of people, it was so bizarre. He knew that people lived like this, that this was normal, but Keith never really had normal. During some of the most important moments of his life, all he had was Marmora.

Lance bounded back into the family room with a DVD case in his hand. He crouched in front of the TV and got everything ready, chatting idly as he did. Keith, on the other hand, was trying not to get overwhelmed.

Once the previews had started, Lance settled back on the couch, a mere cushion away from his company.

“I’m just going to warn you now, this is really cheesy. Like, the turtles are played by some guy in these kind of freaky-looking suits. But it’s better the than CGI overload of the newer movies.”

Keith nodded, now picking at the scab on his hand.

“Is that from your crash?” Lance asked.

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Keith’s fingers curled in on themselves, suddenly self-conscience about the scrape. Lance leaned over and hissed.

“Yikes, that does not look good. Are you sure you should leave it open like that?”

Keith shrugged. “I had it covered this morning, but it made it hard to write. I’ll wrap it back up later.”

“If you’re sure, dude.”

“I’m sure.” He didn’t mean to sound so hard, but the words left little room for more talk, so the conversation died right there.

The movie started and it was a classic mid eighties, early nineties aesthetic. From the pop soundtrack to the baggy fashion, the movie was pretty dated. However that didn’t stop Keith from getting into it.

Like Lance had warned, the turtles were kind of creepy looking, but their banter was funny and loaded down with old lingo. The fight scenes were actually pretty cool and Keith was kind of in awe that the stuntmen could pull off those moves in those bulky costumes.

The bowl of chips had migrated from the table to a spot in between the two boys. Keith’s hand moved up and down mechanically, almost like it had a mind of its own. Pretty soon, his fingers brushed the bottom of the bowl.

He looked up at Lance sheepishly. “Did I eat all of those?”

“Yep.” His blue eyes shined. “No worries. It was kind of funny. You looked like a robot.”

“Har har.” On the screen, the four turtles and their two human friends were escaping the city, taking refuge in a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. Now seemed as good as any time to ask. “Did you get into a lot of trouble with the principal?”

“Kind of? Though honestly I think the guy was just confused why no one caught on sooner. I mean, I’m the youngest out of five and all of my siblings went to the same school. Hell my oldest sister started the Hispanic Students Athletes Club when she went there. He just gave me a little speech about honesty and then had me sign up for French.”

“Wait, all of your siblings went to the same school? And no one realized that you already knew Spanish?” Keith gaped, trying to get the facts straight. Lance just shrugged and took a sip of his drink. “What a bunch of dumbasses.”

Lance choked. He coughed, sputtering out a laugh as he set down his glass. “Keith…holy shit, Keith, that almost came out of my nose.”

“I would have paid to see that.”

“Cool. I take credit cards.”

That inspired another laugh out of the two. Keith held his side, his bruises flaring as he laughed along with Lance. But it didn’t really matter that it hurt. Keith could easily ignore his sore side and the reason why he got it. In fact, sitting next to Lance, talking and watching a dumb movie, it was so perfect that Keith was blinded by it.

Being around Lance was easy. It made him feel wanted and happy and so many other things that Keith didn’t know how to name. This bright, beautiful boy managed to drag Keith out of the shadows and lead him into the sun.

Neither of them knew it then, but looking back that was when it all began.

 

* * *

 

 From then on, things between Lance and Keith changed.

Every day, Lance would come to Keith’s spot during lunch and talk aimlessly about his day. He’d ask Keith questions, show him funny videos on his phone, and even help him with Spanish when things got a little confusing.

A week after they had watched the movie together, Lance found out that Keith’s birthday had already passed and decided to do something about it. Keith walked into his art class after lunch and found a plastic container of cupcakes and a large card made out of poster board sitting on his desk. Keith never knew his face could get so red.

The holidays grew closer and Lance surprised Keith yet again with a gift on their last day of school before break. Wrapped in tissue paper and buried under fun size candy bars was a little figurine. A toy of Keith’s favorite Ninja Turtle, Raphael.

During the two weeks of winter break, Keith wanted to get Lance something. In fact, it was all he could think about. Unfortunately, all that time off had to be used to pay off his debt. Keith spent the entire time in Europe, helping carry out one of the biggest art thefts in modern history. He didn’t have time to look for a gift and it bugged him.

Of course it didn’t bug him nearly as much as when Kolivan split the shares from their heist and Keith got left with the scrapes. This job should have cut down his total by at least eight grand, but he barely walked away with a thousand dollars. On their way back to the states, Keith confronted Kolivan.

The small group of Marmora agents were on their way to the airport after a successful mission. The art was stolen without a trace and already sold to a buyer on the black market. Kolivan had handled the transaction himself, and, despite his resting bitch face, Keith could tell he was pleased with the results. So then why was Keith getting so little? He deserved a fair share of the profit.

Keith waited until everyone had left. It was just him and Kolivan, the man who pushed this incredible burden on a child and then didn’t even give him a fair shot to set it all right. For the first time in a while, Keith hated him.

“Any reason why I didn’t get my fair share of the score?” Keith crossed his arms, glaring daggers at Kolivan’s back.

The tower of a man grunted, not bothering to turn as he spoke. “I split the prize based on the amount of work each operative put in to the job. If you don’t like you share, I suggest you work harder next time.”

“That’s bullshit! I was the first person in that room. I disabled the alarm on those paintings. I did more work than any of those other guys!”

“You were distracted,” he said simply.

“Wh-what?” Keith seethed.  “Are you kidding me? What the hell— I’ve done everything you’ve ever asked me, Kolivan! ‘Distracted’? What is that a _joke_? I was there, I did my job and no one will ever know who stole that shit! Are you really just making up excuses for not giving me what I deserve?”  

Kolivan turned, his eyes narrow. “Kogane…”

“It’s like— it’s like you want me to fail. Like you want me to be at your beck and call for the rest of my life. Well guess what, asshole, I’m paying off my debt and leaving. I don’t want to be a part of this shitty organization, I don’t want this shitty life! I want to make my own choices; I want to keep going to school. I w-want… I want—“

“ _Keith_.”

“What!?”

“You were spotted on two security cameras.”

Silence consumed the room as Keith felt the fight drain from his body. “… _what_?”

As an answer, Kolivan reached for the tablet on the table next to him and pulled up a video feed.

The colors were muted on the video, but the image was clear. The camera was fixed on the back security door, angled just right so that it showed the whole side of the building. Suddenly, a figure dressed in black appeared on screen. They stood far enough away that their face wasn’t visible, but Keith knew that was him.

Keith watched himself stare up at the wall. He watched as the recording of himself backed up as much as he could and then launched himself at the solid stone. Keith remembers the feeling of running up the wall, the moment where gravity hadn’t kicked in yet. He remembered latching on to a window sill that was only about an inch thick and using that as his entry point.

He hadn’t even thought to check for a camera.

Kolivan stopped the video and quickly switched to another. This one was even worse. Keith groaned as his whole face came into view while he stalked a hall inside the museum.  The angle was just outside of the room where their prize was and he was too distracted to realize that a camera was staring him in the face.

With that evidence shoved in front of him, Keith realized that he was lucky to even get half of what Kolivan gave him.

“Haxus managed to corrupt the video before the authorities could view them. You have not been compromised.”

Keith’s eyes were boring holes into the ground. His hands were clenched so hard into fists that his joints creaked. Kolivan moved around Keith, saying nothing as he passed. It wasn’t until he was at the door that the leader finally said something.

“Thace fought long and hard for you to go to that school. But if it becomes a distraction, you will be relocated. From now on, Zarkon is going to send me a weekly report of your progress. There will be no more mistakes like this. Understood?”

“Yes,” Keith gritted out. “I understand.”

All thoughts of Lance fell away as Keith released the tension in his hands. They tumbled to the ground like rain drops, instantly soaked up by the dry ground and forgotten.

 

* * *

 

 Keith didn’t want to admit that he was pulling away, but what else could he call it? After he returned to school, Keith had begun to feel like going there was a mistake. Thace truly did have his best interest at heart, but when it came to Keith’s happiness and his freedom, Keith would always choose the latter. After all, once he paid off his debt he could find something that made him happy again. Who cared if he has to wait a few more years?

Apparently, Keith did care. But he did everything he could to ignore that feeling.

Instead of going to his usual spot during lunch, Keith either went off campus or hid in the art room until lunch ended. Since they didn’t have any classes together, it made avoiding Lance pretty easy.

One afternoon a few weeks after the semester started, Keith decided to check and see if Lance still went to his former lunch spot. His heart lurched his chest when he saw the blue eyed boy, his knee bouncing and hands buried deep in his jacket pockets. Lance was waiting for him and Keith wanted nothing more than to talk to his friend again.

But Kolivan had made it very clear that Keith had to perform perfectly or he’d be ripped out of the school entirely. And that… Keith really didn’t want that to happen. If he was honest with himself, one of the main reasons he wanted to stay in school was because of his growing relationship with Lance. He was the reason Keith smiled so much nowadays. He was the person Keith found himself thinking about when he was alone.

In truth, during that robbery Keith was too busy thinking about what kind of gift to get Lance for Christmas to actually pay attention. That was why he was so distracted.

It made sense to cut out the problem. Said problem being his growing attachment to Lance, but Keith realized that his reasoning was flawed. Laying it all out by the facts, it became very clear.

Keith liked going to school because learning was way more fun than he thought it would be, and he made a friend that made him laugh until his sides hurt. Keith didn’t want Kolivan to take all of that away. To take Lance away. So why was Keith doing that for him?

All Keith had to do was make sure his two lives didn’t hinder each other. He just had to make sure that when he left school grounds, he nothing more than a Marmora agent. No thinking about tests or projects or friends. Just his job.

He didn’t have to keep avoiding Lance. All that was doing was hurting them both.

Determined not to let his double lives interfere with one another, Keith created a new set of rules for himself. A guide so that he could keep going to school and hanging out with Lance and also pay off his debt. It would take some self-discipline, but Keith knew that his stubborn nature would come in handy. After all, there was never a challenge that he backed down from.

With a new found goal in mind, Keith hurried off to the art room. He had to finish something first before going up to Lance.

 

* * *

 

 Keith lingered outside of the French room a few minutes before the last bell of the day rang. He had asked to go to the bathroom in Spanish class while Mrs. Saad was focused grading so she didn’t notice him leave with all his stuff. It’s not like she would really care. He got good grades and that was all that really mattered to her.

His pulse was thrumming as the time dragged on. The rolled up paper in his hands felt like it weighed fifty pounds, but at the same time he thought it was going to get swept up in the breeze. Keith had been in many tense situations in his life, some you could even call life threatening, but nothing was more nerve-wracking than waiting for a boy. A boy that he had a growing crush on and was about to give a gift. A decidedly shitty gift that he made in a high school art class.

This was possibly the worst idea he had ever had in his entire existence.

The bell rang and Keith actually jumped. The door burst open and students came flooding out. And of course Lance was one of the first people to step outside the door. And of course he froze where he stood, blocking the flow of traffic and causing someone to push him. And _of- fucking- course_ Lance nearly collided with Keith as he flailed his arms and tried to stay standing.

If it had gone any other way, Keith might have called himself lucky.

Lance flushed, straighten up and took a big step away from Keith. His cheeks were pink as he chewed his bottom lip. “Oh, h-hey Keith. Sorry I almost knocked you over.”

“It’s fine,” Keith replied. He tried not to take to heart the fact that Lance was looking at anything but Keith himself. There was a reason for that, and Keith was here to make up for it.

“So how you been? I haven’t really seen you since the semester began.” Going for a casual tone, Lance tossed him an easy smile. Keith took a breath.

“I’m fine— well, I am now.”

Lance frowned and finally looked at Keith. “What do you mean ‘now’? Everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s good, but, um…” Keith tried to get a handle on his thoughts before diving right in, but everything he practiced suddenly flew out the window. Trying not to panic, Keith just barreled on ahead. “Look I’m…I’m sorry for not hanging out with you. Things kind of happened over break that I don’t really want to talk about. I kind of let it get to me and then ended up avoiding you. I-I’m sorry for that.”

“Keith, you don’t have to—“

“I made you this.” Keith shoved the rolled up paper into Lance’s hands before the other boy could say anything else. If Keith let Lance talk now, he might lose steam and chicken out before giving it to him. There was no time for that.

A little confused, Lance pulled the rubber band off the paper carefully. His eyes darted up to Keith every so often like he was making sure his movements were okay. Once he finally unrolled the paper, his gaze was locked onto the painting, growing wider by the second.

“It was an assignment for class,” Keith explained, turning away so that Lance might not see him blush. “We had to use watercolors and paint a landscape. I’ve never used watercolors before, hell I never even painted before I took this class, so sorry if it looks kind of shitty. I just…well I—“

“Dude, you made this?” Lance finally dragged his eyes away from the paper and up to Keith. It took all of Keith’s mental facilities just to simply nod. “This is so pretty! Like Keith, my man, don’t take this the wrong way, but you are total a talented emo art boy.”

“I’m— wha?”

“Shh, just accept it. It’s high school, as much as we try to deny it, we all fit into a stereotype. And you are totally the moody guy who wears all black and writes poetry and makes fan-fucking-tabulous paintings of sunsets while simultaneously wooing all the girls with your ‘I don’t care’ attitude.”

“How did you say all that in one breath?”

“It’s a talent.” Lance pushed back his bangs and winked. “BUT holy shit man this is great! I’m totally going to hang this on my wall.”

Keith blushed yet again. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t, but I’m going to. You can’t stop me, Yuen.”

Whatever feeling was sparkling in Keith’s chest deflated when Lance used his fake name. It was like reminder that all of this, his relationship with Lance, was built on a lie. Keith pushed down those feelings, he pushed down the truth. For now, he was just going to enjoy his time at this random high school with a boy who was the embodiment of sunshine.

For now, he was just going to be happy.

 

* * *

 

 “Again.”

Keith leaped into action, running the same drill he had been doing for the past two hours. The person he was sparing against rotated with every turn, but Keith hadn’t even stopped to take a drink.

Zarkon’s voice was the only thing that he registered at this moment. That and the pounding of his fists against the pads and the grunts of the other agent as they tried to stay steady. Keith had been throwing the same combination of blows for so long that it was becoming second nature. He didn’t even need to think. He just moved. After the last hit, the man he was up against shook out his gloved hands and grimaced.

“Good. Now your opponent will fight back.” Zarkon’s voice echoed across the training floor.

The next man in the rotation stepped up. He was a big guy, taller than even Lance and had a noticeable problem with his footwork.

 _Lance…shit, I’m not supposed to be thinking about Lance._ Keith shook out his body, willing his thoughts to stay in the present.

The man, some guy named Rychk, cracked his knuckles in what was supposed to be an intimidating display. It took all of Keith’s willpower to not roll his eyes.

“To win, you have to knock your opponent unconscious. No tap outs. Go.”

Rychk launched himself at Keith then moment the match started. With quick movements, Keith sidestepped the assault and positioned himself behind Rychk. One hefty kick to the back sent the man tumbling off the mat.

The others in the room laughed. Even Zarkon cracked a menacing smile.

Keith kept his guard up as Rychk stomped back on to the mat, his eyes flaring with anger.

Rychk and Keith slowly circled each other, watching the other like predators on the hunt. Surrounding them, a small crowd had begun to form. Other agents under Zarkon’s order began leaving their own training behind. They cheered and shouted, placing bets behind their backs on who would wake up in the infirmary. Keith let all of the noise fade away.

The first punch nearly hit Keith square in the jaw. He felt the whoosh from Rychk’s fist as it skimmed past his ear. Keith waited, dodging blow after blow as the other fighter found his rhythm.

Rychk’s mouth looked like a slash across his face. A frustrated grimace grew deeper on his face as each one of his punches missed their mark. It was clear that this man relied on his strength. His footwork was sloppy and getting worse by the second as he focused solely on throwing his fists with as much power as he could muster. It was going to be his downfall.

Keith had made Rychk circle the mat twice and, on the third pass, he finally made his move. Rychk swung his left arm hard. Keith grabbed his wrist and pulled, sending his opponent stumbling forward.  Since he was already off balance from his wild punches, Rychk actually tripped on his own foot and fell right into Keith’s knee.

There was a loud whoop from the audience as Keith rammed his knee into Rychk’s gut two more times. The man growled, trying in vain to rip his hand out of Keith’s grip. In a desperate move, Rychk spat at Keith, getting him right in the eye.

Keith shoved the man away, hastily wiping his face before his opponent could take advantage of the situation. Keith was a second too late getting back into the fight as a fist collided with his cheek. His teeth rattled in his skull and around them, another loud cheer erupted from the crowd.

Keith let the force of the punch push him back, rolling away from Rychk before the man could land another blow. Keith wasn’t sure if he could keep going after another blow like that. The man hit like a wrecking ball. Keith got to his feet, doing his best to ignore the intense throbbing on his face. Rychk looked positively smug about landing that hit. Keith was going to make sure it was the only one he got.

It took a matter of minutes after that.

Keith’s mind went completely blank. His body moved on its own, instincts driving him and making him a terrible force of nature. Rychk didn’t stand a chance.

Dodge. Dodge. Block. Punch. Block. Kick. Kick. Punch. Dodge.

The actions were second nature to Keith. This raw talent was what Zarkon saw in him and it was what he was trying to hone. That day, Zarkon saw Keith’s future. And it was bathed in red.

Rychk was out cold before his body collapsed onto mat. There was a thunderous noise in Keith’s ear. Part of it was his adrenaline fueled pulse, and the other was the raucous roar from the crowd. Keith stared down at Rychk, watching as someone came up to check on him. A hand grabbed Keith’s arm and hoisted it above his head, the unknown person jeering at the people who bet against him.

Slowly, Keith came back to himself.

It was scary, getting that lost. Keith didn’t think about it often, but it was a jarring sensation to be fully aware of your movements one moment and completely feral the next. It was like something else took over, made him forget his pain and push forward till he came out the winner.

It was like… it was like there was something inside of him. Something wild that festered in the darkest parts of his soul.

 _Maybe that was too dramatic,_ Keith thought lazily as a traced the bruise on the side of his face. He was quickly swept up by the people around him, all of them clapping him on the back and thanking him for winning them a handful of cash. Ulaz actually picked up one guy and flung him to the side to get to Keith. He was one of the few members stationed at the base with medical training and was always present at the fights in case someone needed attention.

Ulaz was tall, really tall, with narrow features and a permanent look of disapproval on his face. Keith always felt a little uneasy when he was the focus of Ulaz’s attention but he was one of the few that Keith got along with. Well, got along may be a bit of a stretch.

The crowd parted as the two walked. Keith glanced behind him one last time to catch a glimpse of Rychk still passed out on the ground. From what he could see, blood was streaked across his face and dark purple bruises were already growing on his bare chest. Keith looked away. 

Ulaz slathered Keith’s black eye with a cool cream and then took to cleaning his bloody knuckles. There were rough spots where the skin had broken and the rest was red and throbbing. Keith made a mental note to wear his gloves tomorrow at school. It would cover up most of the damaged to his hands but his black eye was another story. There was no way of covering that up.

Lance would definitely make fun of him for wearing fingerless gloves.

“Good work today, Kogane.” Zarkon grasped his shoulder from behind, squeezing it ever so slightly.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

“No training tomorrow. Take the day to reflect on your progress. We’ll continue on Friday.”

“Yes sir.”

With that, Zarkon left. The moment he did, Keith noticed that Ulaz was watching him. His sharp, bird-like eyes follow Zarkon as he disappeared behind the door. It was odd, to say the least. Ulaz didn’t like most people, but he respected his comrades. At that moment there was nothing in his gaze but loathing.

Keith spent the rest of his night sprawled out on his futon, wondering what Zarkon had done to make Ulaz look at him like that. His homework lay forgotten next to him.

 

* * *

 

 The next day at school, Lance had a mini panic attack about Keith’s black eye that was quickly extinguished by the sight of the gloves. After that, he teased Keith relentlessly for embracing his emo culture.

 

* * *

 

 It was the middle of April when everything came to a screaming halt. Keith had the afternoon off from training to prepare for a big job. The details of which he would learn the next day.

Keith waited for Lance outside the French room well after the last bell rang. Lance had mentioned that he had a test so he was probably finishing up the last few questions. He wasn’t the only one struggling as two more students dragged themselves out of the room before Lance, all of them with worried looks on their faces. Finally, Lance emerged.

“I regret everything that led me to this point.” He practically collapsed on Keith, throwing one arm over his shoulder and leaning heavily on the other boy. Keith didn’t even blink at the extra weight and just rolled his eyes.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have gotten kicked out of Spanish class. Then you would have gotten an easy A.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have blown my cover.”

“Maybe you should learn to think before you speak.”

“Overrated.” 

“Whatever you say, Lance.”

“So, still up for hanging out?” Lance finally stood up and smoothed out his shirt.

Keith nodded. “Where did you want to go?”

“Uh, you mind if we go on a little adventure?”

“An adventure?”

“Yeah…I mean, we don’t have to. But there’s this park that’s kinda cool and I know you like being outside and um…yeah.” Lance’s cheeks had turned a lovely shade of pink and Keith couldn’t help but smile at his nervousness. It made his heart stutter in his chest.

“That sounds like fun.”

“Yeah?” A grin lit up the tall boy’s face.

“Yeah.” Keith felt a matching smile grow on his cheeks as well.

“Okay…okay cool. Let’s go.”

 

* * *

 

 It was hard to tell when exactly their simple friendship blossomed into something more. Feelings of happiness and contentment grew and grew until it became an addicting affection for one another. Keith couldn’t say when he realized just how beautiful Lance was, both on the inside and out. He couldn’t for the life of him say what Lance liked about his moody, sometimes shy self. At first glance it didn’t seem like there was any reason for the two of them to be together, but that is exactly what happened.

As Lance and Keith walked around the small lake in the park, they chatted about random things while stealing glances at one another. Keith would focus on Lance’s lips or the way his eyes gleamed in the sunlight and more than once, Keith would catch Lance smiling at him from the corner of his eye.

They walked up and down the hills, passed the baseball fields and the volleyball courts. They stood and watched from a distance as a group of people played Ultimate Frisbee in a wide grassy area.

The two made their way to the large playground, where dozens of kids were running around and screaming at one another. Keith spun Lance on the tire swing, catching him when he lost his balance. They laughed and laughed, climbing up the jungle gym and waiting in line behind the other kids to go down the slide. Lance got roped into playing tag with the other kids while Keith watched and laughed.

As the sun dipped low in the sky, many of the kids were called back to their parents and the playground cleared out. Lance and Keith continued on their walk, heading back to the lake and sitting on a bench near the water’s edge.  

There were people out jogging, walking their dogs, and a few fishermen still out with their gear. It was far from a quiet night, but Keith had never been more relaxed. He almost felt like he was in a daze. A happy little dream that would never end. And when Lance scooted closer, erasing the space between them, Keith leaned into the touch and gazed out at the water with a smile on his face.

A gentle hand cupped his cheek, turning his head to the side. Keith went willingly, his violet eyes searching for a pair of ocean blues.

The two boys were blushing furiously, their cheeks a dark shade of red. But when Keith leaned forward and Lance leaned down, everything clicked into place.

The kiss only lasted seconds, but Keith knew he’d be dreaming about it for days. It was a little clumsy, and Keith was sure that he might have pressed too hard, but when they pulled back both Keith and Lance had the biggest smiles on their faces. It was perfect. 

Lance was the first to speak, uncharacteristically quiet. “I…I like you. A lot.”

Keith felt his heart swell. “I like you, too.”

“Do you think that, maybe we could go out sometime? Like, on a date?” 

“I’d like that. I’d really like that, Lance.”

“Awesome. I’m going to date you so hard.” 

Keith sputtered, laughing brightly.” What does that even mean?”

“Just wait and see, _mi alma_.” Lance grinned and laced their fingers together. Keith happily took Lance’s hand and squeezed.

“Now I’m really lost. What does ‘ _mi alma_ ’ mean?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Lance said simply. 

The pair sat for a little while longer, watching the sun fall behind the horizon. When it was finally time to leave, neither Keith nor Lance let go of each other’s hand.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” Lance asked as he swung their hands back and forth. “Wanna meet up after class and start the weekend together?”

“I wish,” Keith sighed. “But I’m going to be out of school tomorrow. Family thing.”

“Damn. Of course I would pick tonight to make my move. Now I won’t get to see your cute face for three whole days?”

“You…you think I’m cute?”

“Dude, I just kissed you a while ago.”

Keith flushed, tugging on his backpack strap. “I know, I know it’s just…it’s not something I hear every day.”

“Well, get ready to hear it five days a week, sunshine, cuz you are the cutest thing I have ever seen and I intend to shout it from the rooftops till everyone agrees.” 

“ _Please_ don’t do that.”

“No promises.”

Keith bumped Lance off of the curb and turned away, hiding his face from view. The other boy just laughed, coming up behind Keith and wrapping him in a hug.

It was the happiest moment in Keith’s life.

Of course, it was followed by the worst.

 

* * *

 

 His name was Karl E. Bradbury. A certifiable corporate criminal with a heart blacker than the night. At least, that was what Keith told himself over and over again.

In truth, he really was a bad guy. Greedy and prideful. His actions hurt many people and would continue to do so over the years if he was left alive. The Marmora Organization didn’t want to see that happen.

The truth behind Zarkon’s training came out on the plane ride. Keith was handed a folder with the basic information about the man and a time frame that would serve as his window. Zarkon would be watching him with Haxus on their video feed. Sendak would come along as his second. Keith would do the killing.

The seventeen-year-old reasoned with himself on the way to his mark. Ten thousand dollars was a lot of money and it could cut down his time by years. If he kept working under Zarkon, kept taking assassination jobs alongside his usually thievery, Keith could be free long before he was twenty.

It made perfect, logical sense, but Keith couldn’t do it more than once.

Every time he closed his eyes, Keith could see the man he killed. For days he haunted his nightmares, his mind creating more and more gruesome scenes. It wasn’t like it was a hard kill. The man had been asleep and only woke up in the few seconds before Keith struck, but maybe that’s what did it. Maybe it was just too easy to take a life. That thought alone scared Keith.

Zarkon had praised him, told him of his natural talent and strength. The words covered Keith like oil, sliding across his skin and difficult to wipe away.

It wasn’t worth the feeling his chest and the terror when he closed his eyes. Keith reasoned that he was better off slaving away for an eighth of a prize. It would take longer to earn his freedom, but Keith didn’t want to become Zarkon’s favorite assassin. Those words felt more like a burning brand then a title of honor.

It seemed almost surreal walking up to school that following Monday. The long weekend had flooded him with darkness that it felt strange being back in the light.

All around him, students were laughing and piling into the building. Cars and buses slowly rolled by as more and more people filled the space. Keith wondered if anyone here knew his mark. If they knew over the weekend that a bad man died, slashed across his neck while he was sitting on his couch. It had been on the news. The details vague and nothing more than a small little blip in the otherwise busy weekend. Passed over like a forgotten book on a shelf.

Keith’s mind wandered to the test he had in math today. In humanities, they were going to talk about _Frankenstein_. Today Keith had planned on finishing his canvas and showing it to Lance.

Lance.

Memories from the night they kissed flooded his mind. Keith shook his head, feeling almost guilty that someone like him should have those kinds of memories. Sweet feelings of a boy with tan skin and blue eyes. A boy who was funny and loud and kind.

Keith didn’t feel worthy of that boy, of the feelings he had for him. He felt like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Normal on the outside, but dark and vicious underneath. Lance deserved someone better than him. He deserved the world.

The bell rang, urging students to get to class. Keith stood just outside of campus, watching as the crowd moved in an unplanned dance. It was mesmerizing in a way. Curious, how people could move so elegantly without even realizing what they were doing. Or maybe Keith was just making the mundane into something more than it was.

Taking one final look, Keith turned and began walking away. Balancing two lives was risky, but now Keith realized he never should have tried. He had grown too attached to his life at that school, too attached to Lance. It was all a mistake, one that he never would have made without Thace practically throwing him into it. But for some reason, Keith couldn’t bring himself to regret it.

The next few months were going to be hell. Dealing with Zarkon’s fury when he found out Keith wasn’t going to be his precious protégé was only half of the battle. The other half would be letting go of his time in Arizona. Not forgetting the memories he made, but instead coming to terms that he could never go back to that time.

Keith had let go of the past many times before in his life. However, he held on to those memories, to Lance, much longer than anything that came before.

In fact, he wondered if he ever let go at all.

 

 

_If I could find you now things would get better_

_We could leave this town and run forever_

_I know somewhere, somehow we’ll be together_

_Let your waves crash down on me_

_and take me away, yeah, yeah_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been a long ass time since I have had an actual conversation in Spanish. Probably close to a decade. So i panicked and used an online translator. Any spanish speakers out there that see glaring mistakes, please let me know!
> 
> Anywho, thank you for reading <3 <3 <3
> 
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> 
> [fic playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7NCqaPlsQZbK0VVgTYwxhiz6CMAuw65w)


	4. Miles Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now we've all grown up, gone on and moved away  
> Nothing I can do about it, nothing I can say  
> To bring us back to where we were when life was not this hard  
> Looking back it all just seemed so far, so far away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: While I brainstorming this fic, [Miles Apart](https://youtu.be/R4LSbmLXlzY) by Yellowcard was the song I had on repeat. Its kind of the theme for the whole first half of this fic. 
> 
> Many thanks to the wonderful [annalyia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalyia/pseuds/annalyia) for all her hard work :D

“Has anyone ever told you that you’ve got a very outdated haircut?”  
  
Keith blinked a few times, the words bouncing off his ear drums a few times before finally making it to his brain. “I uh— huh?”  
  
Lance huffed, placing his hands on his hips. “Not very sharp, are you?” he said coolly.  
  
“Be nice, Lance,” Matt chided. “If Keith here decides to work for us, he could very well knock you out of the top spot.”  
  
“Oh yeah? I’d like to see him try.” There was challenging look in his eyes, something Keith had never seen before. In fact, almost everything about Lance was new.  
  
Over the past few years, Lance had gotten a little taller, his arms more defined. His dusty brown hair was shorter and more styled then it was when they were teens. Lance looked, for lack of a better word, cool. Almost nonchalant in his faded grey shirt and fitted jeans. He had a sort of confidence about him that was barely beginning to show when they were young but had now evolved into a sense of poise that couldn’t be faked.  
  
In simple words, the boy had grown up well.  
  
Keith glanced down at his scuffed boots and borrowed t-shirt. Shiro had taken him shopping a few days ago, but of course Keith chose to wear one of his brother’s ill-fitting shirts today. It was like the world was conspiring against him. Sure he had changed too, but all of that seemed to pale in comparison.  
  
Compared to Lance, Keith looked like a person who slept in the alley behind Hot Topic. Hell, he was still wearing his stupid fingerless gloves out of a weird, juvenile idea that they actually looked cool.    
  
What made everything so much worse was that Lance was acting like they had never met.  
  
Running a hand through his hair, Keith stood. He didn’t look at Lance as he spoke. “What’s the next test, Matt?”  
  
Lance cut in first. “Hide and seek. You know what that is, right?”  
  
“Remind me,” Keith grit out.  
  
“Fine.” Lance walked around the table, his movements quick and crisp, and grabbed Matt’s shoulder bag. He took out three items and placed them on the table. “For the next hour, I’m going to be walking around the college campus. You have to lift these three things off of me without getting spotted. If I even see a hint of your mullet, you’re done.”  
  
Keith nodded, his mind reorienting and focusing on the task. He could have his meltdown later when Lance wasn’t glaring at him with those cold eyes and before Shiro made it home to coddle him. There was time for emotions later.  
  
The three items he had to steal were sunglasses, a wallet, and an umbrella.  
  
“The timer won’t start until you’re both on campus,” Matt added. He quickly took a few things out on his bag, including headphones his tablet and his cell phone. “I’ll be watching your progress, just to see how you work. If you manage to get everything off of Lance in the time limit, you pass.”  
  
“If being the keyword…” Lance added not so quietly. Matt shot him a confused look, but didn’t dwell on it.  
  
Keith kept quiet, trying to temper the whirlpool that’s forming in his gut. _There’s time for that later,_ Keith repeated in his head. _There’s time for freaking out and over thinking later. Focus._  
  
_Focus._  
  
_You can do this._  
  
“I’m ready.”

* * *

  
Arus State University was a collection of old brick buildings in the middle of downtown. During the school year, it was absolutely flooded with students, so much so that it was hard to get around without crashing into people. During the summer, however, it was almost like a ghost town.  
  
Keith’s mind was racing as Matt left him on the front steps of the library. Lance had hurried on ahead, quickly walking away with a determined spring to his step. It was pretty clear that Lance was going to try his hardest to make this difficult for Keith. Honestly, he didn’t expect anything different.  
  
Crowds and people were key to hiding in plain sight, and Keith was without both of them right now. There were a few summer school students here and there, but the groups were no bigger than two or three. He’d be noticed instantly if he suddenly walked behind them.  
  
_Think, think, think… you can do this, Kogane._  
  
Keith didn’t want to try and figure out why he was suddenly so desperate to pass this test. Before, when it was just a job, he was determined to do his best. Keith wasn’t someone to half-ass anything he did. But now, with him actually chasing down Lance, it was like the rules of the game changed completely. Now, Keith was not only looking for a job and a way to curb his boredom, but he was also looking for a chance with Lance.  
  
What he was going to do with that chance, Keith had no idea. He hadn’t thought that far yet.  
  
Taking a few moments to work up a plan, Keith turned around and went inside the library. He knew that Lance was nowhere near this building. He was heading to the north side of campus last they saw of him, probably to the student union or maybe to loiter around one of the dorms. Places where a random twenty year old could linger without looking suspicious. If Keith was going to steal three things from Lance, he needed to make sure he was as inconspicuous as possible.  
  
In his early days of thievery, Keith was a pickpocket. From the ages of ten to thirteen, he mastered the art of nicking wallets from pockets and handbags with ease. As the jobs became more complicated and Keith got too tall to hide behind adults, his methods had to change.  
  
The first change Keith added to his arsenal was how to adopt an effective disguise.  
  
Skimming through the library, Keith took note of the students hiding amongst the shelves. This was going to be harder, considering Lance knew him so well, but the challenge only seemed to drive Keith.  
  
Passing by several desks with distracted students, Keith grabbed sunglasses, a baseball hat and, oddly enough in the middle of summer, a jacket. Hurrying out of the library, Keith bunched up his hair at the nap of his neck and secured it with his hair tie. He put on the glasses, slipped off his gloves, and shoved them in his pocket before checking to see if there was anything in the jacket. There was a pack of gum in the pocket that Keith grabbed.  
  
Popping a stick in his mouth, Keith made his way across campus.  
  
As he predicted, Lance was in the student union. Standing near the small coffee shop inside, his eyes scanned the crowd, very obviously looking for Keith. Lance wasn’t even giving him a chance.  
  
Keith stopped near entrance of the building, bending over to tie his shoe. His eyes drifted up Lance’s legs to the wallet shape bulge in his back pocket. Keith’s gaze lingered, far too long as he tried to get his shit together and focus.  
  
_You can check him out later, dumbass,_ Keith mentally scolded himself.  
  
Lance took one more look around and went to stand in line at the coffee shop. There were more people in there, more students and summer school teachers looking for their caffeine fix. Before he could hesitate, Keith tagged along behind a professor who was thankfully, a few inches taller than him. The man had a stack of papers under his arm that weren’t contained by a paper clip or anything else. Perfect.  
  
Before Lance could begin his survey of the room, Keith reached over and tugged at the a few haphazard papers and let them fall. The professor moved too quickly, the rest of the papers slipping from his grasp.  
  
Everyone turned and watched as the man tried to keep hold of his pile, but it was a too late. The papers scattered across the floor, a giant mess that took up the whole line. Keith immediately knelt down to help the man and so did Lance.  
  
“Whoa, let me help you that,” Lance said cheerfully to the professor. His voice was the complete opposite of how it sounded earlier.  
  
“Thank you, thank you so much. What a way to start the day,” he grumbled, but he still seemed in a good humor. Lance smiled, agreeing with him.  
  
Keith said nothing as he slowly slipped away. He shuffled behind Lance, still holding papers in one hand, reaching out for the wallet with his other. The pull was flawless, his fingers lighter than air as he stole the wallet right out of Lance’s pocket.  
  
In a weird, almost comical move, Keith took the debit card out of the wallet and slipped it back into Lance’s pocket. He still had to pay for his drink, after all.  
  
Once the job was done, Keith left the papers he had been collecting next to the professor and hurried off before Lance noticed.  
  
One down, two to go.  
  
A few minutes later, Lance came stomping out of the student union and looking around wildly. Keith was already a good distance away, sitting in plain sight on a bench on the opposite side of the mall. From this distance it would be hard for Lance to recognize him. Keith chewed his gum and watched Lance’s every move.  
  
Lance took a long sip out of his drink and slowly reached for the sunglasses on his forehead. He made a show of putting them on, spinning on his heel and walking towards the music building. Keith counted to ten, stretched his arms over his head, and followed.  
  
The music building had more foot traffic than the entire campus. There were students everywhere, from elementary aged ones to high schoolers. Keith wasn’t sure if they were here for auditions, or maybe was some sort of summer program. Either way, the halls were filled with people and bulky instruments.  
  
Keith took off his sunglasses and switched his hat around so that the brim would pull attention away from his eyes. He spotted Lance near a bulletin board, casually twirling the sunglasses between his fingers. His posture was relaxed, casual almost. Like he didn’t have a care in the world.  
  
By the look of things, he was trying to lure in Keith with his care free attitude.  
  
A spark of annoyance fluttered in Keith’s chest. Though Lance might have looked distracted by the board in front on him, Keith knew better. He knew that it was just an act, a way to make his opponent feel like he had the upper hand. Judging from the tension in his legs and the slight twitch of his fingers, Lance was full of energy and ready to pounce the moment Keith made his move.  
  
It was a fairly simple idea, but effective.  
  
In another blatant display, Lance reached into his bag and pulled out the umbrella. He clipped it to strap so that it dangled in plain sight.  
  
Okay, so now it felt like Lance was taunting him, and what for? Keith had already managed to steal one of the items. Shouldn’t it be Lance who was getting frustrated and annoyed? Shouldn’t he be trying to make this harder on Keith by keeping the other two objects out of sight? Why was he doing this?  
  
When Keith realized the answer, he almost banged his head against the wall. Keith ducked into the nearest open room and tried get a handle on the situation.  
  
It was clear what Lance was trying to do. Clear as fucking day. Lance was trying to rile Keith up, to spark his competitive and, admittedly, hotheaded tendencies.  
  
He knew Keith. Lance knew that Keith could sometimes act irrationally. He knew that he had habit of jumping into things. There were a few moments in their shared past where Lance had witnessed Keith’s flaws firsthand. Like when one of the jocks had tried to haze a freshman and Keith jumped in without a second thought. Or a more comical time when Lance had made a joke about Keith only passing Spanish with his help. Keith earned an A on the next test without his help just so he could prove him wrong.  
  
This was taking it to a whole other level. Lance was taking what he knew about Keith and trying to sabotage him, to take advantage of the information he was privy to.  
  
_Fine,_ Keith relented. _Two can play at this game, McClain._  
  
If Keith knew one thing about his opponent, it was that Lance was a kind person. Just like at the coffee shop, he would help someone in need without a moment’s hesitation. Keith had already used that fact to his advantage once without even realizing it. Time to exploit that even more.  
  
Keith tied the jacket he stole loosely around his waist. Gathering up random music stands in his arms, he exited the room and smoothly joined the flow of traffic inside the hall. Lance was still in front of the bulletin board, sipping on the last bits of his drink. He glanced casually over his shoulder, looking positively bored.  
  
Keith hoisted the music stands up higher, awkwardly trying to balance them in his arms. It was a little difficult, but they pulled attention away from his clothes and that was what was important.  
  
Slowing down his pace, Keith watched as a group of girls walked down the hall towards him. Keith had to time it just right so that they crossed paths right behind Lance at the same time. Shifting so that most of the stands where wrapped in one arm, Keith moved to the closer to the opposite wall, away from his target.  
  
Seconds before he reached the group, Keith tugged on the jacket around his waist and dropped it right in their path. As expected, one of the girls tripped on the clothing. She yelped, arms failing as she tried to keep from falling.  
  
Lance’s hand shot out, grabbing her by the arm. “Whoa, careful there! I’m used to people falling for me, but I’d hate it if your gorgeous face got hurt.”  
  
Keith literally stopped in the middle of the hall and spun around to glare at Lance. Lucky for Keith, the girl was too busy blushing and stuttering for Lance to notice. Setting down the music stands, Keith quickly unclipped the umbrella from the bag’s strap and turned to walk away.  
  
Before he could, Lance uttered another lame pickup line that actually made Keith groan. He picked up his pace and turned down the first corner he came upon. Keith was practically stomping down the hall, jealousy burning in his chest.  
  
He had no right to be jealous. After all, he was the one who left, but seeing Lance flirt so easily with someone else actually hurt. Physically hurt. Like someone had forced him to swallow a stone and now it was scraping his insides until it dropped into his stomach.  
  
It shouldn’t be this hard.  
  
_Focus,_ Keith took a breath and tried to calm down. _Just one more and you’re done. One more and then you can freak out, and then you can overthink things until it drives you insane. Focus._  
  
Two down, one to go.  
  
Keith took the back exit out of the music building and slowly rounded up to the front. He stopped just shy of the entryway when he saw Lance hurrying down the steps with a scowl on his face. Clearly he was getting aggravated too.  
  
Lance kept the sunglasses on perched on his nose. It would be pretty impossible to snatch them right off his face. However, Keith knew something else about Lance that was about to work in his advantage.  
  
Lance was very protective of the clothing he owned.  
  
Keith remembered one of the rare times he went over to Lance’s house, and how they talked about Lance’s older siblings. Two sisters and two brothers. Being the youngest in such a large family, Lance often got stuck with hand-me-downs from his two older brothers, and very rarely had things that were just his. Keith fondly remembers the day Lance got his olive green jacket. He wore it every day and nearly had a heart attack when one of the seams ripped. Lance didn’t have many things that were just his, and what he did have, he treasured.  
  
It was time to see if that was still true.  
  
Keith took out the gum he stolen and unwrapped a few more sticks. He chewed the wad of gum while he trailed after Lance, trying to figure out the best route to get ahead of the other boy.  
  
Keith was following Lance for quite a while before his opportunity arrived. A tour group of parents and students was heading their way. Keith noticed the way the crowd drew Lance’s attention. After all, a large group like that would have been the perfect hiding spot. Or in this case the most obvious.  
  
Quickening his pace, Keith hurried to catch up with Lance. With his attention wholly consumed by the passing tour, Keith managed to sneak by Lance without being noticed. Taking a few long strides and glancing to see if he was a good distance away, Keith chewed his gum one last time before flinging it on the warm sidewalk.  
  
Keith moved as quickly as he could without being noticed, and walked between two buildings. He heard Lance groan from his hiding spot. Keith peeked around the corner and saw Lance, hopping on one foot to a bench. Just like Keith planned, Lance had stepped on the gum.  
  
Lance sat with his back to Keith, loosening the laces on his shoe. With a frustrated huff, he pushed the glasses up so that they sat on top of his head.  
  
Perfect.  
  
Keith gripped the sunglasses he took from the library in his hands. With careful, silent steps, he approached Lance.  
  
The boy was grumbling, the words a mixture of swears in both English and Spanish. Lance was too busy trying to scrape the gum off his shoe to notice Keith hovering above him. Keith bit his bottom lip, his adrenaline pounding as his fingers brushed the glasses on Lance’s head.  
  
He inhaled a breath through his nose and made the switch.  
  
Keith wanted to run as soon as he planted the wrong glasses on Lance’s head but he somehow managed to walk away calmly. With all three items in tow, Keith had officially won. Back in his hiding spot, Keith slowly slid down the wall and finally exhaled.  
  
Around the corner, he heard a poppy ringtone. Exactly four seconds later, Lance shrieked.  
  
“WHAT!? Son of a _bitch_ …”  
  
Keith couldn’t help it. He snorted. Moments later, pounding footsteps approached his hiding spot. Lance turned the corner, staring down at Keith with that same cold stare from before.  
  
“How did you do that?” he asked. No preamble, no nothing. Just straight to the point.  
  
Keith still felt the thrum of adrenaline in his veins, leaning back till his head rested on the side of the building. “Can’t tell you. Can’t give away my secrets.”  
  
“Oh yeah? Well, we both know you’re full of those.”  
  
It took Keith a few moments to process what Lance had said. When he did, Keith felt his eyes widen. “Lance—”  
  
“Matt called. He said to meet him at the library.” He turned away and stalked off, without even waiting to see if Keith would follow.

 

* * *

  
“…it felt like I was watching a movie! I swear that was so cool, Keith. Like, I’m supposed to keep an eye on you, but even I lost track of your position every once and awhile. Pidge is going to have a field day analyzing this footage. She loves studying this stuff.”  
  
Matt talked animatedly while Keith and Lance trailed behind him. The trio was making their way off campus and back towards the coffee shop a few blocks away. Lance hadn’t said anything else to Keith in all that time.  
  
Once they made it to the shop, Lance paused. “Well, if you don’t need me anymore I’m gonna take off.”  
  
“Really? You sure?” Matt asked, genuinely confused. “But I thought you said—”  
  
“Sorry, Matty. I forgot I promised Hunk that I’d help him with something. Got to make sure the big guy doesn’t mix up coolant with his Kool Aid again.”  
  
“Wait, Hunk did what?” Matt gaped.  
  
“He didn’t actually drink it, I kind of slapped it out of his hand before that happened, but we were both still freaking out about it. That’s why he has the ‘No food or drink’ sign in the garage.”  
  
“Oh, so that’s why. That explains why he blacklisted Kool Aid, too.”  
  
“Yup.” Lance grinned. “Anyways, see you around, Matt.”  
  
“Later, Lance.” Matt waved and turned to walk inside the shop. Keith lingered a moment longer, watching. In the back of his mind, he foolishly hoped that Lance would turn and say goodbye to him too, maybe even just look at him. It didn’t happen.  
  
The familiar sights and sounds of the coffee shop wrapped around them like a blanket. No matter the time of day, there was always a buzz here. A spark of life that stayed constant no matter what was happening around it. Coffee shops were weird like that.  
  
Keith and Matt ordered their drinks and headed to the table in the back corner again. As soon as they had their beverages in hand, Keith turned to Matt.  
  
“Were you guys talking about a guy named Hunk?”  
  
“Mmmhmm, why? You know him?”  
  
Keith shook his head, amused. “Kind of, I guess. He picked me up on the side of the road the other day. Gave me a ride to the city.”  
  
“Really?” Matt leaned back in his chair. “Damn, how crazy is that? Hunk is Lance’s roommate. Big guy, orange headband?”  
  
“Yeah. That’s the guy.”  
  
“Wow. What a small world.”  
  
Keith cupped his glass, the ice clinking against one another. “Yeah, small world.”  
  
He didn’t have the time to marvel at the fact that Lance was roommates with the same guy who gave him a ride to the city. There were too many strange things happening today that Keith didn’t want to think about at the moment.  
  
Matt didn’t keep him long, just until they both finished their drinks. They went over the test and Matt listened attentively while Keith explained his process. All in all, the conversation was all business.  
  
Once they were done, Keith waited with Matt while he tried to hail a cab.  
  
“I’m going to say we pass on heading over to headquarters. I kind of forgot that Allura had meeting in a few hours. We’ll set something up so that you can see the place later.”  
  
“Okay.”  
  
“Son of nutcracker,” Matt groaned loudly as another empty cab zoomed by him. “Hey, Keith?”  
  
“Hm?”  
  
“I, uh, I’m sorry about Lance.”  
  
Keith looked up, confused.  
  
Matt didn’t know about them…did he? There was no way he could. But then again, Matt was the one of the two people who was monitoring him over the years. Did he know about Arizona? About the year Keith went to high school?  
  
Did he know?  
  
There was no way he knew.  
  
Keith swallowed, all his effort thrown in to keep his voice neutral. “What do you mean?”  
  
“Well, he just seemed a little…rude today?” Matt shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean, you might not have noticed, you guys just met, but he’s not always like that. He’s not always so…cold.”  
  
So Matt had seen it too. He didn’t know the cause of Lance’s change in behavior, but he still saw the difference. Keith frowned, the feeling he had previously stamped down sneaking up on him again.  
  
“It’s fine. I didn’t notice to be honest.”  
  
“Well, hopefully Lance is in a better mood next time you see him. After all, you guys will probably be seeing a lot of each other if you decide to work with us.” Finally, Matt got lucky with a cab. The car pulled up smoothly and Matt opened the door as soon as it stopped. “We’ll be in touch. See you later, Keith.”  
  
Keith waved goodbye, his mind already far from the conversation at hand. He turned slowly, the city sounds muted by his own thoughts. There was just so much to think about.  
  
There was too much energy stored up in his body. Keith felt like he was going to vibrate out of his skin walking around with all of this unresolved tension. But walking was far better than sitting in a cab or waiting for a bus, so Keith walked. He walked and walked, the route to Shiro’s apartment laid out like a map in his head.  
  
Movement was necessary if he wanted to think about this rationally. Walking was fine, but running was better. So Keith ran.  
  
Keith ran with a kind of recklessness that drew attention. He ran like the world was crumbling behind him. Each step he took cracked the ground under his feet, and when he pushed forward the earth fell away and left a gaping maw in its place. Empty and cold and so, so deep.  
  
If he slowed down, if he tripped, the gaping fissure in the earth would swallow him whole. He would fall forever, never getting a relief from the air whipping past him, unable to push down the panic that consumed him.  
  
_Oh,_ Keith thought distantly. _That’s what this is._  
  
It had been a long time since Keith had an anxiety attack, but that was exactly what he was running from. It was speeding behind him, its thin fingers brushing against his shirt and trying to get a grip. It felt like it was growing. That its shadow was hovering over him, blocking out the sun until it was as tall as a skyscraper.  
  
So many images flooding his head all at once. All of them were trying to make sense of the emotions he was feeling. In reality, it felt like ten different movies were spliced together, creating even more chaos in his already crowded mind.  
  
Keith needed to get somewhere quiet now.  
  
This feeling had been building since he first saw Lance. All the tension and the odd behavior, it just fed this ugly thing in the back of his head until it had become a terrible sentient creature. That creature was now demanding to be heard and Keith couldn’t hold it back any longer.  
  
The run to Shiro’s apartment was a complete blur, and Keith was pretty sure he was almost hit by a car twice.  
  
Leaping up the steps, Keith’s hands shook as he pulled open the door and he pushed himself to run up the stairs even though his legs felt boneless. Once safely inside, Keith let it all go.  
  
He stumbled to Shiro’s room, curling up on the bed and pulling the covers over his head. His chest felt like it was slowly being crushed and each breath burned his throat. Tears had already begun pooling in his eyes.  
  
Keith wasn’t ready to see Lance. Hell, he had already convinced himself that he would never see that boy ever again, but now here he was. Lance was standing right next to him and Keith was pretty damn sure the boy absolutely hated him. That thought alone hurt so much.  
  
Keith knew that Lance was important to him. Their time together were some of the best moments in his life. He knew that when he was seventeen, and still right in the middle of it. Just like he knew that his feelings for Lance went above just an infatuation.  
  
The word ‘love’ was something that Keith stayed away from. It felt heavy and binding, almost. And typically, the people who said it either didn’t actually mean it or just used it as a synonym for lust.  
  
When Keith was young and spending time with Lance, he never considered that what they had was love. However, there was nothing else to call it. Keith had fallen in love with Lance when they were seventeen, and before it could take hold, Keith left.    
  
Reasons be damned, Keith should have said _something_ all those years ago. Any lame excuse would have been better than just disappearing days after their first kiss. It might not have saved Keith from the resentment Lance directed at him earlier, but it would have been so much better if he had at least tried.  
  
Of course his mistakes would come hurtling back in his face right when he was starting to feel content with his life. Of fucking course.  
  
Keith wasn’t sure how long he stayed curled under the sheets. His body had long since tired, but there was still the swirling negative energy slowly traveling through his veins. It was always there, likely to consume him again. Hopefully it would be a long time before that happened again.  
  
Uncurling his body slowly, Keith sat up and pushed the sheets away. The light outside was a rosy color, the sunset on full display outside the windows. Keith stood in the living room for a few moments just watching the sky. Not wanting to worry Shiro, Keith headed to the bathroom and took a long, cool shower to wash away the day.  
  
Shiro called around eight, telling Keith that he was going to stay at the hospital overnight. Keith was so consumed in his own thoughts that he didn’t even hear the phone ringing until he was standing right next to it. Then again, that could also be blamed on the fact that Shiro still had a landline. Honestly, he was such an old man already. Who, in this day in age, still has a landline?   
  
Keith pointed this out when he answered the phone, and Shiro kindly reminded him that Keith didn’t even have a cell phone. That made them even.  
  
It was too quiet in the apartment without his brother around. It wasn’t the kind of quiet that music or the TV could fill. It was lonely and the air somehow felt stiff. The whole building felt empty. It was like Keith was stuck in some weird fourth dimension where everything looked the same, but he was the only person left on earth. His own little pocket of space and time.  
  
In all that silence, Keith was able think. He thought about Lance, but not the Lance of the past, the one he met today. All in all, the person he met today was a jerk.  
  
Granted, Keith knew that some of that hostility was well deserved. After all, if the situations had been reversed, Keith would have acted the same way, if not even more resentful. He probably would have refused to help Lance at all.  
  
But maybe that’s what made the whole situation worse. Lance stuck around to help, but it was clear he didn’t like what he was doing. He treated Keith like a stranger, actively searched for him in a crowd, and tried to rile him up in the hopes that he would fail.     
  
Keith groaned and rolled off the couch to lay on the cool floor.  
  
Was he overthinking this? Probably.  
  
Maybe Lance wasn’t all that bad today and Keith was just blowing things out of proportions.  
  
Or maybe Keith was going to soft on Lance and today was much worse.  
  
All those cold glares. The clipped way he spoke. The tension splayed across his face. The rigid posture. So much. So, so much. At all of that was directed at Keith.  
  
“Asshole…” Keith mumbled, but there was little to no heat behind it. He didn’t want to be mad at Lance. In fact, he wanted nothing more than to fall back into the easy friendship they had.  
  
That time just didn’t exist anymore.  
  
It was a pain to admit, but this was a prime example of Keith’s choices biting him in the ass. He chose to leave, and even though he still fully believed he made the right decision, he was still the one to blame. Telling Lance now what had happened seemed insincere. That, and Keith really didn’t want to bring up his past anymore. It was hard enough telling Shiro, and he still hadn’t revealed all the details.  
  
Lying on the living room floor, Keith made a decision. He was going to apologize to Lance for leaving so suddenly, with no explanation. Even if he was confident with his decision, Keith was worried what Lance’s reaction would be. Would he demand answers? Would Keith finally tell him the truth?  
  
Maybe they would have a long conversation and things would turn out okay. Honestly, that’s probably what would happen. But there was the smallest chance, less than ten percent, that everything would end horribly.  
  
Keith didn’t want to take the risk.    
  
It was impossible to fall asleep that night as Keith wrestled with his thoughts over and over again. He was being irrational, stubborn, and a little dumb, but that didn’t mean any of his feelings were invalid. It just made his mind busier, overflowing with restless energy until he plodded over to the kitchen and ate all of Shiro’s cereal.  And then it got worse when he used the last of his money to order Chinese food from a random flyer he found in a pile of mail.  
  
For a sketchy place that was open twenty-four hours, the egg rolls were fucking amazing.  
  
The sun was glancing over the horizon as Keith flipped through the TV channels. The last of his fried rice was abandoned on the coffee table as old sitcoms played on the screen.  
  
In a spur of the moment idea, Keith threw on his shoes and grabbed his keys. He walked around the city, studying the way the early morning changed the people and the buildings.  
  
A new day was blooming. Slowly and beautifully.  
  
It was in that moment, when the sun was finally above the horizon and the cool morning air was ruffling his hair that Keith had a revelation. He stopped dead in the middle of a crosswalk and asked no one in particular the most baffling question this whole situation provided.  
  
“Why the fuck is Lance a thief?”

* * *

  
“Holy shit…” Keith gaped at the house looming before them. In the driver’s seat next to him, Allura giggled.  
  
“It does make quiet the statement, doesn’t it? When I first brought Lance here, he asked if I stole the house from Bruce Wayne.”  
  
“Who?”  
  
“Oh, dear. You’re a bit out of touch, aren’t you?”  
  
“Yeah…” Current trends and pop culture were things that he was never really good at. Blame it on lack of interest and the fact that he grew up in a criminal organization.  
  
The house Allura pulled up to was nothing short of spectacular. Hidden on the outskirts of Arus City, the large property was filled with an incredible amount of flora. It was as if a small forest took up the grounds. Keith swore he saw a lake hidden amongst the trees.  
  
The house itself looked exactly how Keith imagined Jay Gatsby’s house would have looked. It was breathtakingly large, with trimmed hedges and shining windows. There were gardeners kneeling in the flower beds, chatting and smiling at one another and a valet waiting for them at the end of a long gravel, driveway.  
  
The man opened Keith’s door, greeting him with a friendly smile. Oddly enough, the valet was wearing jeans. Keith would have expected some sort of fancy uniform.  
  
Allura left the car running as she bounded up to the front door. Keith turned to look at the valet once again before speaking.  
  
“I’m going to guess that you inherited this place.”  
  
“And why do you think that?” she asked.  
  
“Educated guess.”  
  
Allura grinned. “Well, your educational history is abnormal, but you are correct. This house has been in my family for generations. Although, I didn’t grow up here. I spent most of my time in Europe.”  
  
“Hence the accent.” Keith nodded.  
  
“Hence the accent,” she repeated back. “Now, come along.”  
  
Allura stepped into the main entrance with Keith at her heels. The grand staircase and ornate ceiling would have been more impressive if Keith hadn’t seen similar things all his life. Of course, there was something different about Allura’s house. It was…brighter. Bathed in light from the open windows, everything inside the mansion seemed to glow with an otherworldly presence. Even Allura herself.  
  
“My family, as you might be able to tell, is very well off and only about a fourth of that is from our thievery background.” As she spoke, Allura led Keith deeper into the house, passing the staircase and heading towards a sitting room. “If I recall correctly, my family is descended from some sort of royal line. Old money, as some would call it.”  
  
“Huh.” Keith nodded along, genuinely interested. A streak of blonde hair grabbed his attention. A very familiar young women stepped into the sitting room wearing shorts and a flowing tank top.    
  
“Hey, Allura. I’ve got those blueprints Beezer compiled— oh. Looks like we’ve got some company.” The woman smiled, her light blonde hair swaying like it was caught up in a wind. Keith stared for a moment, recognizing her from the bus ride he took with Matt a few days ago.  
  
“Thank you, Nyma. Tell Beezer thank you for me.” Allura unrolled the blueprints and grinned. “Oh, and Keith I don’t believe you two have been properly introduced.”  
  
The blonde woman stepped forward, holding out her hand. “I’m Nyma. Nice to see you again, cutie. Keith, right?”  
  
Keith blinked a few times before he shook her hand, stumbling over his words. “Uh y-yeah.”  
  
Nyma giggled.  
  
“Nyma, Rolo, and Beezer make up one of our teams. They specialize longer cons. Jobs that take a few months to complete,” Allura explained.  
  
It was one thing to plan a theft for months, but another beast entirely to work it for such a long time. That required a different set of skills than Keith possessed.  
  
“Rolo, Beezer, and I just got back from Vegas about a month ago.” There was a wicked gleam in her eye. “Those old geezers who own those places will be scratching their heads for years trying to figure out where all their money went.”  
  
“Well, that’s what they get for exploiting their employees.” The smirk on Allura’s face matched Nyma’s eerily. The two women high fived before Nyma turned and left the room, saying a quick goodbye as she turned the corner. Keith was left feeling confused, but it didn’t concern him too much. Every moment spent with Allura was confusing as all hell.  
  
The two sat in opposite each other in plush armchairs. A sharply dressed butler came by almost instantly with a tea tray and two cups. Once he was gone, Keith dove right into his list of questions.  
  
“How many people do you have working for you?”  
  
Allura paused for a moment, her finger tapping her chin. “Well, as far as the house, we only have about 20 people working here, most of which are groundskeepers. The only people who actually live here are the staff and I. Of course, we do have frequent guests. As for Voltron, we currently have three teams. After this month I hope to bump that number up to four.”  
  
Keith took a long sip out of his cup, keeping his features relaxed. “I haven’t said yes yet, Allura.”  
  
“Who said I was talking about you?”  
  
Keith rolled his eyes.  
  
Abruptly, Allura stood. “Well, let’s get this tour started, shall we?”  
  
Allura’s house was just as marvelous inside as it was outside. Most of the guest rooms had been converted into various different workshops and storages. There was a room completely filled with computers and other electronic parts. A room filled with clothing ranging from elegant to vagabond. A gallery filled with some pieces of art that Allura’s family owned. A vault where some of the more precious items were kept. An indoor pool. Spare bedrooms. A giant garage. A media room.  
  
It felt like every door opened up to a mystical portal that transported them to a different place entirely. Keith was very proud that he was able to keep his jaw from dragging on the floor throughout the tour.  
  
“I can’t believe I almost forgot the kitchen,” Allura muttered. The two were retracing their steps down a hall they had passed hours ago. “While it’s not really necessary to our operations, it’s just rude not to show you.”  
  
In the distance, there was a loud peal of muffled laughter. Keith thought it sounded familiar.  
  
“Oh, I forgot…” Allura slowed, carefully pushing on the kitchen door.  
  
The sound of laughter burst forward, brighter than ever. Keith froze in the doorway, trying to understand what on earth was going on.  
  
There were smatters of mushy green goop everywhere. The once shining appliances and dark granite countertops were absolutely covered in the mess. There was a loud battle cry as a chunk of something flew over the kitchen island and stuck to the wall on the opposite side.  
  
“Ha! You missed, Pidge!”  
  
“Don’t get too cocky, Lance!”  
  
“Hey, stop! You guys are making a mess!”  
  
“What do you mean ‘you guys’?”  
  
“Yeah, don’t feign innocence, Hunk! You’re as much a part of this as we are!”  
  
Another chunk of weirdly colored food splattered on the ground near Keith and Allura.  
  
“I am sorry about this.” Allura sighed. “I forgot that Hunk was visiting today, and, well…when these three get together, chaos ensues.”  
  
Keith nodded absently, trying to catch a glimpse of Lance. Hunk was easy to spot as he stood near the stove and used a baking sheet to block incoming projectiles. He may have been telling them to stop earlier, but there was a mischievous gleam on his face as he scooped up another chunk of food.  
  
Hiding near the refrigerator was a small girl with tufted brown hair. The person, who Keith assumed was Pidge, was using the fridge door as cover and occasionally reaching inside to find more projectiles.  
  
All that was left was Lance. Keith grew almost excited at the thought of seeing him again. There were so many things he wanted to say, so many questions that were burning the tip of his tongue and practiced apologies he had to give. After three long years of being apart, Keith wanted so badly to make things right.    
  
As Keith turned to look for Lance, a giant blob of food landed smack dab in the middle of his face.  
  
Allura actually gasped, apologizing immediately and rubbing away the mess that had dripped onto Keith’s shirt. For his part, Keith was stunned for a few seconds before he even realized what happened. He held up his hand, placating Allura, and then wiped away the mess that landed on his face.  
  
“Oo! Sorry about that—oh wait, it’s just you.” Lance was standing near the kitchen island, his hands covered with food. He was looking at Keith with an almost mocking grin on his face.  
  
_Did he…did he do that on purpose?_ Keith scowled, looking down at the mess on his shirt.  
  
When Keith looked back up, Lance was smirking. A wry, twist of his lips and Keith knew, with absolute certainty, that Lance threw that food on purpose.  
  
All thoughts of a peaceful, adult conversation flew out the window. If Lance was going to act this way, then Keith had no reason to be the nice one. He was going to treat Lance exactly the same way. Give him a taste of his own medicine.  
  
It was about twenty steps in the wrong direction, but Keith didn’t care at the moment. There was currently weird smelling food stuck in his hair and staining his brand new shirt. A shirt that Shiro literally just bought for him.  
  
Maybe he would regret this later, but looking at the stupid grin on Lance’s face just made his blood boil.  
  
_Oh, it is so on, McClain._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this is okay. I got to admit, rereading it, it doesn't quiet feel all that great. Especially compaired to how happy i was with the last chapter. But I'd hate to make y'all wait more so, oh well. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, comments and kudos! I really appreicate it :)
> 
> [fic playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7NCqaPlsQZbK0VVgTYwxhiz6CMAuw65w)


	5. I Guess That We're Moving On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our situation's changing from day to day  
> You're probably thinking that we should go on our separate ways  
> No matter what you do, I'll still feel the same about you  
> We're at a crossroad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from the song [Crossroads](https://youtu.be/gLAJEK_76ks) by Forever the Sickest Kids.
> 
> As usual, many thanks to [annalyia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalyia/pseuds/annalyia) for suffering through my wonky grammar :D

Keith crouched behind the large air conditioning unit, readying himself for a long wait while the building next door cleared out. It was still a few hours away from closing.

Matt hummed in his earpiece, the clicking of a keyboard echoing in the background. “Okay, partner. Looks like it’s camping time.”

“Yippee,” Keith deadpanned. Matt snorted.

“We could play a game? Or I could read my dissertation to you.”

“It’s like you want me to fall asleep and ruin another job.”

“Okay, one: ouch. I don’t know which idea you were dissing, but still, ouch. And two: you didn’t ruin your first job. I mean, we still got the stuff for the Alliance, it’s just that—“

“It’s just that I didn’t do anything,” Keith grumbled. His first official mission with the Voltron Alliance had ended with far less stellar results then Keith would have liked. And the reason for his disappointment? Lance McClain.

Since the food incident, tension between the two had escalated. It was subtle at first, nothing more than a few harsh glares and clipped sentences when they were forced to interact. But then Allura handed Keith his first assignment. A dual robbery of some very old tea sets from Japan. And who was the person he was supposed to work with? Lance. Motherfucking Lance.

That night the two of them worked in relative silence, with Matt guiding them through their earpieces. Every once and a while Lance would huff at something Keith did or comment how it could have been done better. Little remarks that slowly chipped away at Keith’s patience.

He swore he was better than this. Keith had never let some petty insults get under his skin before. However, Lance seemed to be a special case.

That boy had a superpower that seemed to be annoying Keith so much that he wanted to hip check Lance off the nearest roof just to get him to _stop talking_. If only things were that easy.

The job was bumpy from start to finish and Keith didn’t even get to grab what he came for. Two steps into the museum and Lance took off like a bullet. He grabbed both tea sets and was gone before Keith could even try to catch up. Oh, not to mention he tripped one of the silent alarms.

“Lance set off that alarm on purpose,” Keith grumbled.

There was a hesitant sigh from Matt and then, “Y’know, normally I’d be trying to back Lance up since we’ve been friends for a while, but…yeah. He totally did that on purpose.”

“Asshole.”

“I can’t argue with you on that, Keith.” There were a few moments of quiet and Keith took to watching the clouds lazily float overhead. For a little while, it was like Matt wasn’t even there.

“I can’t figure out why he’s acting like this,” Matt muttered over the line.

“Me either,” Keith lied. He knew damn well what was going on, and it drove him up a wall. Stupid Lance and his stupid attractive face.

 _Stop thinking that_ , Keith scolded himself for what felt like the hundredth time. _He can’t be attractive and annoying. It’s just not allowed._

“Whatever. It’s not like it matters. I’ve dealt with worse,” Keith concluded. Matt hummed, the sound of clicking keys accompanying him.

It took an hour for the sun to fully set and then another hour until the gallery was empty. All that was left was the night guard, but Matt had that handled.

“Okay…looks like he’s finishing up his round. You’ve got about a minute until you’re clear.”

“Good.” Keith stood, stretching his arms over his head and shaking out his legs.

“Proceed to entry point. Wait for my signal.”

Keith didn’t answer as he swiftly ran across the roof and leaped to the other building. His timing was perfect, rolling out his jump and getting back to his feet as he hurried over to the skylight. In his ear, he could hear Matt quietly counting. Keith unraveled the rope he brought with him and fixed the grappling hook securely to the thick metal frame of the window.

“Guard is in his office. Give me twenty seconds to deactivate the cameras.”

“Got it.” Keith’s hand’s gripped the window latch. He had already disabled both the lock and the motion sensor three days ago when they were doing recon work. It was a testament to how stupid some people could be when both security measures were still disabled by the time they came back.  

“…and done. Good to go, Red.”

Keith rolled his eyes at the nickname, flipped open the skylight, and immediately jumped. The rope practically glided through his gloved hands as he fell, slowing his descent. Once his feet touched the ground, Keith was moving.

There was nothing in the world that was quite as thrilling as this. Sure, there were thrill seekers that went base jumping and swam with sharks, and that was well and good. But this? It was like there was lightning in his veins.

It was such a strange line to run across. Technically, Keith was breaking the law. If he were caught, he would definitely be thrown into jail, his life effectively ruined. Even with that risk practically licking at his heels, Keith couldn’t help but feel like he was where he belonged. It all just felt so right.  

Keith smirked as he watched the red light of the security camera flicker off. The gallery wasn’t too large, but it was prestigious. The current exhibit was created by a modern artist that was taking the art world by storm. Even the smallest pieces would fetch a hefty sum, and Allura had her eye on one piece in particular.

As he made his way to his target, Keith listened to Matt update him on the guard’s activity. Not that he needed it. Keith was going to be long gone before the guy even thought of starting his second round.

The target was exactly where Matt said it would be, the alarm around the frame already disabled. Keith lifted the painting from the wall, detecting several anchors that were holding it in place. Once removed, he slipped a protective cover over the entire frame and hurried back the way he came.

On his way back, something shimmering caught his eye. Keith smirked, checking to see if there were any cameras focused on the glass case. Seeing none, Keith reached into the small bag strapped to his belt.

“Uh…Keith? What are you doing?”

Finding the alarm on the case, Keith set to work with a small tool in one hand. He shrugged as he answered Matt. “I like it.”

Matt chuckled, although it was a little strained. “Uh…I don’t have access to that alarm. We don’t have time to—“

“Done.” Keith pocketed his tool and carefully opened the case. He grabbed the item inside and continued on.

“Dude. You have got to tell me how you did that.” Matt sounded genuinely impressed.

Keith grinned. Yeah, his hard fought skills would be totally wasted in any other place.

The exit was just as smooth as the entrance. Keith climbed up the rope with ease, his muscles burning just a bit from lack of use; however, his body fell naturally into the motions. Once on the roof, he quickly detached the hook from its place and closed the skylight quietly. Then he was running.

Keith leaped off the roof to the building where his whole evening had started. Down the fire escape and weaving in between several alleyways, Keith turned a corner and finally found what he was looking for.

A lone cable truck sat underneath a darkened streetlight. The side door slid open, and inside Matt was waving, illuminated by several screens. Keith rolled his eyes and hurried over.

“Could you look more conspicuous?” He hopped inside and closed the door, securing his haul. His counterpart looked completely nonchalant as he closed his laptop and climbed up to the front seat.

“I could be driving an ice cream truck instead. You’re lucky Pidge talked me out of that one.”

There was a huff of laughter from Keith as he slowly unwound from his heist. There was still a lingering pulse of adrenaline running through his body that was making his hands shake.

Keith did what he always did after a simple grab like this. He pulled the elastic band from his hair, combing it as best he could with his fingers. Then he shed the extra layer of black clothing he had on until he looked like nothing more than your average twenty-year-old. And finally, Keith checked over his prize one last time.

Back when he was stealing for Marmora, the last step in his little ritual was more like him saying goodbye. Goodbye to what? Well, there were a few things that came to mind. For starters, Keith would be saying goodbye to a huge sum of money that would have been his if he worked alone. It was no secret to anyone at Marmora that Keith always received the smallest share out of everyone. Why? Keith never really knew, but he pretty much always blamed Kolivan.

It was so incredibly frustrating holding on to an item that could essentially free him from prison and then being forced to let it go moments later.

Perhaps that was another thing Keith said goodbye to during this time. He’d look at the items he’d stolen and lament over his freedom or lack thereof. Each time, when an artifact he stole passed from his hand to someone else, it was like he was watching his future being traded away.

Not this time. This time, Keith was going to get more than his fair share. For the first time in his life, he was getting what he truly earned.

With a funny little smile on his face, Keith finished removing his gear and climbed into the front seat next to Matt. While his teammate flipped through radio stations, Keith reached into his pocket and pulled out the little sparkly item he grabbed.

It was a blue lion, small enough to fit perfectly in his palm. The little statue was intricately carved out of a smooth cerulean stone. It was simple, but beautiful. When Keith saw it out of the corner of his eye, he just knew he needed it.

Blue had always been his second favorite color.

 

* * *

 

“It’s simply stunning.” Allura was gushing, her nose inches from the canvas as she studied the intricate lines of the artwork. It had been a good ten minutes since Keith and Matt delivered the painting but she still hadn’t put it down. “I can’t wait to send this to my father. He absolutely adores modern art.”

With careful movements, Allura placed the painting in the gallery, hanging it temporarily until it eventually was packed up and shipped to…wherever her father was.

Alfor was a bit of a mystery to Keith. He knew that the man had started the Voltron Alliance and that he still worked from time to time with his old team, but as for where he was and what he did with his time, Keith had no clue. From the brief mentions from Allura, he seemed to be enjoying his retirement to the fullest.

“Well, that was a smooth job from start to finish. Great work, you two.” Allura smiled at the both of them and Keith tried not to laugh at the almost doe-eyed look on Matt’s face. “Just like I predicted, you work very well together.”

Keith couldn’t help but agree. Matt was smart and easy to get along with. While it might take a few jobs to truly find their rhythm, what they had now was pretty damn good for starters.

The three headed to the sitting room where, despite the late hour, there was a spread of fresh sandwiches and other treats. They all took their seats and Keith could feel the air in the room change.

Allura was the one to start. “Keith. It’s officially been a month.”

He nodded, taking a bit out of a cookie. “Yep. Time flies.”

“That it does. Since we’re at the end of our agreement, I wanted to get answer to my proposal. I am still more than willing to explain the situation to your brother. That is of course, if you say yes.”

Both Matt and Allura were looking at him with bated breath. Keith tried not to smirk, but it felt kind of good to be wanted. And damn, did Allura really want him on her team. Keith let the silence stretch on for a bit longer while he finished his cookie.

“I accept your offer.”

 

* * *

 

It took exactly three steps to get Shiro to Allura’s mansion. The first was making sure that he had two days off in a row with no outstanding plans. The second was hopping in a fake cab driven by Matt and convincing Shiro to go along with whatever adventure Keith had planned for the day. The third step was supposed to be rationally explaining to Shiro that Keith had found a job.

The last part of the plan didn’t go so well. When the front gate of Allura’s drive came into view, Keith experienced a sudden case of word vomit.

“Igotajobstealingfancystufffrombadpeople.”

Even though Keith’s words slurred together, Shiro heard him perfectly clear. His once calm expression morphed into a hard look of disapproval.

“…what?”

“I-I…uh got a job?” Keith tried again, actively ignoring Matt’s wheezing laughter in the front seat.

“No, I got that. I’m actually more concerned about the whole ‘stealing’ thing.”

“Oh, right. That.”

Matt sniggered again so Keith kicked the seat.

Shiro sat back, eerily calm. “I’m guessing you’re not an actual cab driver?” he asked Matt.

“Nope. Matt Holt, at your service.” His introduction was met with silence.

Keith watched his brother from the corner of his eye. Shiro looked like some kind of all-seeing Greek god. Or really, he looked like the imposing statues that were carved in their likeness. Keith couldn’t even begin to guess what Shiro was thinking.

 _Shit,_ Keith let his forehead drop onto the window, wondering just how bad this was going to go.  

“So. Where are we going?” Shiro asked, his voice even.

“Uh, were going to meet Allura. She’s the one who offered me the job.”

“How did she find you?”

“It’s…kind of a long story.” Keith absently tugged at the bottom of his shirt as he spoke. “Also, Allura said that she’d answer any questions you have.”

Shiro nodded and silence fell again. Thankfully, it wasn’t as long as it was before. The mansion came into view, and waiting for them at the front door was none other than Allura. She was the perfect picture of a professional, with her neatly styled curls and very business-like attire. Clearly she was trying to make a good impression on Shiro.

After all, if Shiro wasn’t on board, Keith would definitely reconsider her offer. The last thing he wanted was to disappoint the one person in the world he called family. As much as Keith wanted to work for Allura, he wouldn’t do so if it meant pushing Shiro away. That wasn’t an option.

As they finally made their way up the drive, Allura was the first to step forward and open the car door.

“Welcome. You must be Keith’s brother—“

“Takashi Shirogane.” Shiro got out of the car swiftly, standing tall while he studied the woman in front of him.

“It’s a pleasure.” Allura spoke gracefully, unaffected by Shiro’s overwhelming presence. Which, honestly, was damn impressive. Keith was still kind of reeling from the switch from ‘normal’ Shiro to ‘I can and will murder you with a spoon if you hurt someone I care about’ Shiro. It was both a terrifying and comforting thing to witness.

Despite all of this, Allura was as calm and put together as always. “My name is Allura Altea. I’m sure you have many questions, and I will answer them all. But first and foremost, I want to assure you that neither your or Keith are in danger here. I understand your hesitance, and, hopefully after today, I will have put those fears to rest.”

With nothing more than a single nod, Shiro followed Allura as she led them inside her home.

Even though Keith wanted to listen to the discussion between his brother and his boss, he was shooed out of the room by Shiro almost immediately. The doors to the parlor slid closed mere seconds after he was forced out and Keith was left pacing outside the room.

It was probably for the best anyway. Knowing him, Keith would probably say something that would send Shiro’s protective instincts into overdrive. After all, Keith wasn’t very good at having conversations. More often than not, he’d say the first thing that came to mind, which was never a good thing.

Still, it bugged him to be shut out like that. Almost like he was a little kid being pushed aside while the grownups talked. _So stupid…_

Somewhere during his thoughts, Keith had ended up sitting on the floor with his back leaning against the wall. In fact, he was so preoccupied that he didn’t even notice footsteps coming down the stairs.

“Squatting is illegal, y’know.” Lance paused at the bottom of the stairs, looking down at Keith with the same sort of indifference he had been wearing since the two crashed back into each other.

Keith actually groaned, his head banging on the wall behind him. Lance was honestly the last person he wanted to see right now.

“I’m not squatting, I’m just sitting.” He kept his attention focused on the door in front of him.

“Yeah, in the middle of a hall like a weirdo.”

“What do you want, Lance?”

The tall boy tapped his bottom lip with his finger, looking way too damn cute to be fair. Even though they still hadn’t talked about their past, a small part of Keith still wanted a chance to reconcile. That is, if Lance would stop being such an ass and actually admit that they knew each other. The chances of that happening were slim to none.

Lance strode slowly towards Keith, his eyes glancing over the closed door. “Hm…what do I want…well for starters, a sandwich would be nice. Oo, and some French Fries. But those have to wait. I need to talk to Allura. Have you seen her?”

“She’s in there,” Keith pointed to the door. “But she’s busy. Not sure how long she’ll be.”

Despite his answer, Lance went to the door and reached for the handle. Keith practically leaped towards him, grabbing his arm.

“You can’t go in now, weren’t you listening? Allura’s busy.”

“I heard you. I’m just ignoring you.”

 _Son of a_ —“Look just-just come back later, okay? She’s busy.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that. It’s just fun to annoy you.” He smirked.

“ _Lance_.” Keith’s frustration was close to boiling over. Lance just really new how to get under his skin.

“All that frowning is going to give you wrinkles, Keithy boy.”

“Oh yeah? Well you…you… _shit_. Why can’t I think of a comeback?”

“Ha! I win!”

“This isn’t some game, Lance!”

“That’s what a loser would say!”

Suddenly the door slammed open and Lance actually yelped. Allura stared at them with an extremely menacing smile. In the background, Shiro was sipping a cup of tea and looking at Keith with a curious expression.

“Lance.” Allura’s voice was overly sweet and vaguely creepy. “As Keith has mention several times now, I am busy at the moment, so whatever it is that you need me for will have to wait a while longer.”

The embarrassed flush on Lance’s face put a smug smile on Keith’s lips. That is, until Allura’s scolding gaze landed on him.

“Keith.” Oh dear god she was scary. Allura’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I am trying to make a good impression on your brother, and your ridiculous squabbling is the absolute last thing I need at the moment. Now, I am doing you a favor, so please don’t sabotage yourself.”

Keith nodded, mumbling out an apology. Seemingly content, Allura turned back to Shiro so fast that her hair actually wacked Lance in the face.

“So sorry about that, Takashi. Can I get you a refill?”

“That would be great, thank you.”

The door closed and Keith swore he saw an amused little smile on Shiro’s face.

Keith sighed and rubbed his face, willing the slight flush on his cheeks to go away. He stared at the door for a few seconds longer, wondering if it was worth it trying to eavesdrop. Deciding that was a bad idea, Keith slowly walked to the back door, hoping that fresh air would help him relax. It took a few moments before he realized that Lance had followed him.

“You…have a brother?” he quietly asked.

Keith turned, a little surprised. “Um, yeah. Well actually, no not really.”

“Will I ever get an honest answer from you?” The bitter tone Lance used made Keith’s temper spike.

He wanted to push back at the stinging comment, but he managed to stifle that impulse. Getting into a fight was easy, but damn if it didn’t leave some nasty scars.

Keith took a breath and answered. “Shiro and I aren’t related. We were neighbors growing up, and, well now…he’s letting me live at his place.”

“Okay, so then why do consider him your brother? I mean, if you guys were so close, why didn’t you mention him before?”

“Are we doing that now?” Keith asked, turning to glance at Lance over his shoulder.

“Doing what?”

“Admitting that we know each other. It’s been over a month.”

Lance kept his expression blank. “You could have said something too.”

“I…” Keith swore, realizing that Lance had a point.

 _Why am I like this?_ Keith thought. _Why do I constantly make things harder on myself?_

Keith huffed, blowing a loose lock of hair out of his eyes. It was increasingly annoying how one part of his life was going well while others were still stuck in the metaphorical mud. At least Lance was talking to him. That was an improvement, right?

The two walked in silence out the back door. A warm summer breeze met them as they stood on the wide deck. There was an open grassy area, with a fountain at the center. A few beds of flowers were scattered here and there, and the trees surrounded them like a natural wall. It was a very pretty sight, and Keith had the urge to hurry down to the grass and sprawl out like it was a bed. But there would be time for that later. Right now, time with Lance was a precious commodity. Keith intended to soak up as much as he could.

“I could have said something.” Keith said finally. “I guess I just… I didn’t feel like you’d give me a chance.”

Lance stood beside him and Keith practically shivered. It was the first time they had been this close without arguing in ages. Keith felt a little bold speaking his mind. Lance had some things to own up to as well. Of course, he probably didn’t see it that way.

It was silent much longer than Keith expected. Lance was still close, but he didn’t seem to ready to talk much. Still, Keith had to try. So, he moved on to the most pressing question on his mind.

“Why are you working for Allura?”

Lance shrugged indifferently. “Cause I am. I don’t think I need to explain my choices to you of all people.”

That stung. Keith stamped down on his temper again and took a breath. “It was just a question. I’m just… _trying._ To talk or whatever.”

A strong breeze ruffled the trees. Their leaves almost shimmered in the sunlight as they moved back and forth.

“You never answered my question,” Lance said suddenly. “Y’know, about that guy in there. Shiro I think his name was? Tell you what, you answer my question and then I answer yours. Sound fair?”

Keith crossed his arms to stop himself from fidgeting. It was technically fair. After all, Lance did ask him a question first. With a tired sigh, Keith relented.

“Fine.”

“See, I knew you had some common sense hidden in that mullet of yours.” Lance grinned, and it actually reached his eyes. Keith felt his stomach whirl and suddenly he couldn’t look in Lance’s direction anymore.

“Shut it,” he mumbled.

“So, spill. Why do you call this Shiro guy your brother?”

Keith looked out at the expansive lawn, one hand gripping his arm a little too tight. “Shiro is…Shiro is all I have.”

The change in Lance’s tone was immediate. “What?”

“Growing up, Shiro was always there for me and now— I don’t have anyone else I can call family.”

“Keith…what do you—”

“Keith?” A voice called to him from the back door. Shiro was standing there, look much less like a scary Greek statue and more like himself. Keith felt an enormous sense of relief lift from his shoulders. He practically ran over to the man.

“Shiro! Hey so, uh, you talked to Allura?”

Shiro rolled his eyes. “Obviously.”

“And…you’re not going to tie me to a chair in the apartment for all this?” he asked hesitantly. There were a few moments of deafening silence before a small smile appeared on his face.

“No, I’m not going to tie you to a chair. I honestly don’t even know where you came up with that.”

“So, this is okay?”

“Keith, you are an adult. You don’t have to ask my permission to do things.”

“I know, I know it’s just— well I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to disappoint you or something.”

A fond look overcame Shiro’s face. He reached out and ruffled Keith’s hair, making it weirdly spiky. Keith tried to elbow his brother but ended up missing and hitting the door jam.

“You’re such a jerk,” Keith said as he rubbed his stinging elbow.  

“And you are much nicer than you lead people to believe.” Shiro flicked his forehead for good measure.

Behind them, there was a muffled laugh that made Keith freeze. He totally forgot that Lance was here and that he just witnessed that embarrassing event. Of course they were interrupted when they were finally making some progress.

Moments later, Allura appeared in the doorway holding an envelope. “Keith, before you leave, here is your share of the prize from last night. I realize that you don’t have a bank account quite yet, so it’s cash for now.”

Keith felt himself perk up. His first payment. This was unreal.

The envelope was thick in his grasp and it took all of his will power not to rip it open right there.

“Guess we still have some things to do, huh kiddo?” Shiro said, looking at the envelope. “You don’t even have an ID, do you?”

“Nope.” Keith didn’t care at the moment. He was just too damn excited.

“Oh, Matt can help you with that,” Allura supplied. “Seeing as I don’t think you know where your birth certificate is, he can create one for you.”

Shiro made a funny little noise in the back of his throat that Keith chuckled at.

With everything settled, Keith and Shiro made their way back to the front of the house where Matt was waiting for them in the taxi. Keith waited until they were seated and on their way before he finally looked into the envelope.

“Hey, we should look into getting you a bed now that you have money. It’s not good for your back to keep sleeping on the couch.” Shiro said.

Keith barely heard him over the ringing in his ears. He swallowed, running his thumb over the wad of cash that was actually _his._

“Actually Shiro, I was thinking of a whole new apartment.”

“Oh…so you’re going to move out? That— that’s great, Keith.” Shiro was doing a poor job of hiding his disappointment. Keith rolled his eyes and nudged his brother’s shoulder.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily, Captain. I’m pretty sure our building has some two bedroom places open for rent.”

A warm smile consumed Shiro’s face. “I think you’re right. Let’s check them out.”

While Keith was slowing counting out his money, his head shot up. “Son of a bitch.”

“What is it?”

“He didn’t answer my question.”

 

* * *

 

There was a strange feeling in Lance’s chest as he watched Keith leave with Shiro. There was a small touch of jealousy in the mix, seeing Keith so open and just happy with someone. Lance wasn’t even sure if he had ever seen Keith look so content, even when they were together. Well, not _together_ together. After all, it’s not like they ever actually dated.

 _And whose fault is that?_ His brain hastily supplied. Lance stamped down his frustration, trying to keep it in check. He was actually having a nice conversation with Keith. Finally making progress. It would be a waste to just fall back into anger when he really just wanted…

Well, he still wasn’t sure what he wanted.

Keith had changed a lot over the years, but in a good way. He was taller now, only an inch or two shorter than Lance himself. His hair had gotten longer, too, and despite what he initially said, Lance practically swooned when he saw it. Keith’s eyes were just as wild and beautiful as he remembered. His voice low and soothing without even trying.

Lance didn’t realize he had missed the damn boy so much until he saw him again. All of those feelings came rushing back, and, along with the happiness, despair flooded him too. The feeling of not knowing what happened, of feeling like you did something wrong to push that person away. Like you weren’t good enough. Smart enough. Attractive enough. Like you just weren’t _enough._

When he found Keith, Lance felt special. Keith would look at him like he was someone who mattered and that he was wonderful without even trying. Lance loved him fiercely for that. But then he left without so much as saying goodbye and all of those good feelings left with him.

 _When did this all get so messy?_ Lance wondered.

Out of all the confusion and frustration, Lance knew one thing. He deserved some answers. Everything had been going so well and then, poof. His feet were yanked out from under him and he was shoved back to the starting point, only this time he had no reason to run the race.

When you find the love of your life at seventeen only to have it ripped away, it kind of makes you wary of trying again. But hey, Lance was adaptable. He was used to making things up on the go.

Three years of living without knowing what the hell he was doing was a kind of tiring. At least he had Hunk and Pidge, and of course Allura.

Without her especially, Lance would probably be spending the majority of his time either staring at the world through prison bars or stuck in the midst of some petty criminals while they planned their next small time bank robbery. Yeah…he owed Allura a lot.

“Lance?” Allura had changed from the cute pencil skirt she was wearing earlier to something a bit more relaxed. Her brilliant platinum hair billowed around her like a cloud. “I nearly forgot, but didn’t you need to see me for something?”

“Oh yeah,” Lance pulled out his phone. “It wasn’t all that important. I just wanted to show you this.”

Displayed on the screen was a little girl with a cat ear headband and a short, fuzzy brown hair. There was a man sitting next to her who looked exactly like Lance, albeit with brown eyes and a rounder face. Between them was a sign that read ‘6 months of remission!’ in colorful letters.

Allura’s eyes grew wide, her hand coming up to rest on Lance’s shoulder.

“Mimi wanted me to show you.” Lance flipped to the next photo which included the girl’s mother too.  They all looked so happy.

From the corner of his eye, Lance could see Allura wipe away a tear. “I can’t believe it’s already been six months.”

“Me either. Thanks, Allura. For all your help.”

“There’s no need for that. It’s the least I could do.”

“Still, thanks.”

Allura squeezed his shoulder gently. “Well, I’m going to leave before I actually begin to cry. Ryner said she created a new gadget she’d like my opinion on.” She turned to walked back inside, patting him on the arm one last time.

“Hey, Allura?”

“Yes?”

Lance bit his lip, wondering if he was pushing his luck. Oh well, if she didn’t want to answer, then he’d just have to go to the source. Which was...slowly becoming an option.

“You never said how you found out about Keith. I mean, Matt said that you recruited him, but you never said from where? Was he working with another agency or more like me?”

A somewhat somber look overcame the young woman. Lance was caught off guard for a moment. He’d never really seen Allura look so…troubled? Was that the right word?

After a few seconds of mulling over her words, Allura met his gaze. “I guess the answer is both, however I’m afraid I can’t go into detail. It’s not my place to share someone else’s story.”

The answer was just as confusing as Lance expected. Everything with Keith was so damn cryptic.

Lance simply nodded, watching Allura vanish inside the house.

 _Mierda…was this ever going to make sense?_ Lance flopped down into one of the patio chairs. He rubbed his temples absently.

Now he was going to add ‘possible sad/depressing past’ to his list of things he knew about Keith. After all, the look on Allura’s face spelled out a pretty complicated story. There was something about Keith, something his boss knew, that wasn’t good.

And there was what had escaped the boy’s lips moments before they were interrupted.

_“Growing up, Shiro was always there for me and now— I don’t have anyone else I can call family.”_

Thinking back, Keith never did mention his parents. Never said a word about a grandma or a cousin or anything. Was he really that alone?

Groaning, Lance rolled off the chair and headed back inside. He was pretty sure he had a spare swimsuit somewhere in the damn mansion. And even if he didn’t, he would jump into the pool in his boxers. Lance just needed to relax for a while, and the water was calling him.

 

 _You got in my heart, you got in my head_  
_And I believed everything that you said_  
_We're at a crossroad, we're at a crossroad_  
_We're at a crossroad, I guess that we're moving on_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having a hard time not putting a ton of song lyrics into the chapters. Like I didn't even plan to use songs at all when I first plotted out this story, and now i have a freaking playlist that I dump all potential chapter titles into lol. ALSO, the song for this chapter is like.... so perfect. The lyrics like perfectly line up with where the boys are right now in the story and can you believe this wasn't the song i had in mind when I wrote it? 
> 
> Anywho, I ramble. Thanks so much for reading, comments and kudos! It makes me smile every time :D
> 
>  
> 
> [fic playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7NCqaPlsQZbK0VVgTYwxhiz6CMAuw65w)


	6. Casually Aware of Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every time I look back  
> Every time I look back  
> You were standing there  
> Casually aware of me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from [Every Time](https://youtu.be/epqqdA_4xCQ) by The Last Bison (which y'all should check out cuz they're great).
> 
> HUGE thanks to [annalyia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalyia/pseuds/annalyia) because, dang I was so weird about this chapter and the next one lol. Hope you all enjoy!

For the next few days, Lance seemed to be hovering around every inch of Allura’s house.

Every time Keith walked in the front door, there was Lance. Either he was sitting in the sunroom or coming down the stairs, chatting with Matt’s clone (aka his sister, Pidge) or just about to leave. Lance was always there, but he never really said anything.

Keith couldn’t figure out if this was progress or not. Sure, Lance wasn’t goading him on or aggravating him anymore, but he just wasn’t doing anything. A quick ‘hello’ and then back to whatever he was currently occupied with. Nothing more, nothing less.

It seemed that Lance and Keith had officially crossed over into the casual co-worker relationship. It annoyed Keith to no end.

After their brief talk on the patio, it felt like they were going somewhere. Lance had finally, _finally_ acknowledge their past. He asked questions and showed an interest in Keith for the first time since their reunion.

Was he missing something? Was Keith supposed to do something else to get Lance to talk to him again? He was saying hi whenever he saw the other boy, but walking up to him and starting a conversation was still so damn hard. There was still a thrum or tension surrounding them.

Keith stared up at the ceiling and groaned. Around him were bits and pieces of the bed frame he was supposed to be putting together. But that took work and thinking and a whole bunch of things he didn’t want to do. Keith would much rather put together his bookshelf. Then he’d have an excuse to go to the bookstore around the corner and work on filling the shelves.

However, Shiro stole the instructions to the bookshelf. Somehow, he knew Keith would put off making his bed. The man seemed to know exactly what Keith was thinking and, honestly, it was a little scary. It was a wonder that Keith managed to keep Allura a secret from him for a whole month.

“Keith?” Shiro’s head appeared in the door. “How’s it coming—you haven’t moved since the last time I came in here.”

“Yes I did,” Keith huffed.

“Rolling onto your back doesn’t count.”

“Why not? It’s technically moving.”

Shiro sighed. “Well I’m pretty much done. Do you want help?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Sit up.”

For the next twenty minutes, Shiro and Keith put together the bed frame. They half carried, half dragged the new mattress in from the main room and set to work making the bed. Once it was all done, Keith was kind of glad. He collapsed on the freshly made bed and let out a long sigh.

“This is amazing.”

Shiro sat next to him. “Told you. The best thing about moving is setting up your bed. That’s when it really starts to feel like home.” Shiro dropped the bookshelf instructions on Keith’s face.  “ I think you earned this.”

“ _Finally_.” Keith practically leaped off his bed. He planted himself in front of the box and began dumping out its contents. Shiro chuckled as he went towards the door.

“Let me know when you’re done. We can head over to the bookstore and grab take out on our way back.”

“You’re the best, Shiro!” Keith called over his shoulder.

“I know!”

Keith put together his bookshelf in record time. He grabbed his worn copy of _Treasure Island_ and smiled. The photo he kept tucked away in its pages slipped out and fell to the floor.

For a while, Keith just stared at it, letting it stay where it landed. To be perfectly honest, he was sure what to do with the photo. It was the only family picture he had, but it didn’t really feel like family. The people in the picture, including himself, were strangers.

Eventually Keith picked up the photo and stuffed it back in the book. He set it on the shelf next to the blue stone lion he stole from the gallery.

Keith and Shiro were able to switch apartments with very little hassle. The old woman who owned the building adored Shiro and transferred his lease to the two bedroom apartment. She added Keith to it as well, right after Keith received his new ID from Matt (Keith had requested that his last name be ‘Shirogane’. Keith Kogane didn’t officially exist anymore. It would have been suspicious if he just popped back onto the grid after disappearing for ten years). All of that only took a week and Keith still had more money in his pocket then he knew what to do with. Yeah, he was doing pretty well for himself.

So of course his brother had to come along and ruin his good mood.

The two had made it back to the apartment just as the sun set. Keith had managed to find many books he remembered from high school, along with a few that he’d heard about from Thace. The bag nearly ripped on their way home.

While Shiro divided up the fried rice, Keith sat at the kitchen table and began the arduous task of deciding which book to read first.

“Hey, Keith?” Shiro asked.

“Hm?”

“The other day at Allura’s, who was that guy you were arguing with?”

Keith’s forehead collided with the table. He let out a long groan, silently cursing Shiro for his good memory.

“He…he’s no one. Don’t worry about it.”

Shiro frowned. “It didn’t sound like no one. You guys were pretty loud. Do you fight with him often?”

“…we didn’t use to…” Keith mumbled.

“What?”

“Uh—” Keith’s head shot up from the table. Shit, he shouldn’t have said anything. Shiro was staring at him, a plate of fried rice and sweet and sour chicken in his hand. He looked concerned. “It’s nothing, Shiro.”

“Keith…”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Setting the food down, Shiro pulled out his chair. “You know saying that is only going to make me worry more.”

Keith kept his eyes down. With his finger he began tracing shapes onto the back of his hand.

“You can tell me when you’re ready.”

Smiling, Keith looked up at the man he called his brother. More often than not, Keith wondered how in the world he got so lucky to have Shiro. He was so kind, so understanding. After the shitstorm of the last few years, it was such a relief to have Shiro.

But Keith didn’t like lying to him. Keeping things to himself, avoiding hard discussions, it would do neither of them any good.

Setting his books to the side, Keith began to talk.

Talking about Lance and the history they shared also meant telling Shiro about his brief stint as an assassin. After all, for him to truly understand the volatile nature of their current relationship, he had to understand all the steps it took to get them there. Every single one.   

“There’s…there’s something I haven’t told you yet, Takashi. Something I really _don’t_ want to talk about.”

“Then don’t,” Shiro said calmly. “I’m not going to force anything out of you.”

“I have to. Because, well because even though I don’t want to talk about it, I still want you know. Does that make sense?”

“Sort of?”

“Good enough.” Keith took a deep breath, folding his hands on top of the table. “Okay. I guess I’ll start with Thace…”

It felt like he’d been talking for hours. Keith couldn’t remember eating dinner, or drinking four cups of water, he could barely even remember moving from the kitchen table to the couch. All the while, Shiro listened. It was like a repeat from their first long conversation, only this time Keith wasn’t holding anything back. Including his feelings involving Lance.

All of his feelings. From the casual comradery of friendship to the realization that it was something more. He talked about what he thought of Lance, how much he liked his voice or how stupid his jokes could be. Keith spoke about the crash, when Lance pretended like he didn’t even know Keith and how he completely understood.

Keith held nothing back.

Once he was done, it took a whole five minutes before Shiro spoke.

“Can I ask a few questions?”

Keith nodded. His fingers were pulling at a thread he found on a throw pillow.

“Okay, uh, I’ll start at the beginning, I guess. What happened to Thace?”

“That’s where you’re starting?” Keith asked.

“Yeah. I made a list while you were talking.” Shiro held up a little notepad. Keith swore that it materialized out of thin air.

“Uh, ‘kay…Thace went on a mission a couple days after I started school. Don’t know what it was, but he didn’t come back. I didn’t find out until after I left school. I don’t think Zarkon wanted me to have any other distractions.”

Shiro nodded, crossing off an item on his list. “You and Lance met in high school, so what is he doing here?”

“Honestly? I don’t know. I haven’t asked him yet.”

“Why not?”

Keith crossed his arms and sank further into the couch. “I just haven’t. You heard all the stuff going on between us.”

“But don’t you want to know why he’s working for Allura? I mean, it seems pretty odd. From everything you told me, he was a normal kid from a normal family.”

Knowing why Lance had become a thief was literally the least of his worries. Keith was far more interested in finding out what was going on in that stupid head of his.

“Next question,” Keith mumbled.

“All right.” Shiro circled something on his notepad. He was probably going to come back to that topic later. “Did you keep anything from your art class?”

“Seriously?” Keith looked at his brother with a deadpan expression. “Shiro, why is that even on your list?”

“What? Can’t I be curious? Its sounds like you liked it. Hm, I wonder if Lance kept that painting you did for him…”

Keith kicked Shiro in the leg. “You’re a doofus.”

Shiro laughed. “Doofus? Who says doofus anymore?”

“I do when my brother is being dumb.” Keith tried to kick him again, but Shiro caught his ankle.

A small pillow fight ensued where Keith managed to grab Shiro’s notepad and fling it across the room. Keith almost won by sitting on Shiro, but he was quickly thrown off and landed on the floor with a thud. The two were breathless with laughter.

The two of them looked up at the ceiling, Shiro on the couch and Keith on the floor. The only noise that could be heard was the occasional car driving down the street and the soft beat from music playing next door.

It felt like days before the peace was finally broken.

“I remember that man. The one that you…” Shiro’s words trailed off, but it wasn’t hard to guess what he was going to say. Keith closed his eyes.

“Yeah. A lot of people knew him. Well, _of_ him, I guess. ”

Shiro hummed. “I remember reading about him, before he died. He sounded like an asshole.”

Keith snorted. Shiro didn’t curse often, and something about it was always funny. It was like Captain America saying the word ‘fuck’. It was just weird.

“I’m sorry,” Shiro said quietly. “I’m sorry for everything you had to go through, Keith.”

Keith really didn’t know what to say. He glanced at Shiro, but couldn’t see much of his face from where he was laying.

“I understand if you don’t want to talk about it again, but I just want to let you know, you’re not a bad person for what you did.”

The words were swimming around Keith’s head.

“I can’t say I know what you went through, or even what you’re going through now. Even though you’ve told me everything, it’s hard to wrap my head around. Not to mention you were so young when everything happened. But I do know one thing.” Shiro’s hand appeared over the side of the couch, open and waiting. Keith grasped his brother’s hand without a second thought. “Death…it sticks with you. I can tell you the name of every patient I lost and the choices I could have made differently. It’s not something you can easily forget.”

Keith’s vision was blurry, quiet tears rolling down his cheeks.

“I think you’re doing okay right now, but if you ever…feel like you're not, you can talk to me.”

“I know.” Keith squeezed his hand.

“And I want you to know that telling me all this? It doesn’t change what I think about you for one second.”

It was like Shiro had jumped inside Keith’s brain and dug up all his fears. Everything Shiro said was what Keith desperately needed to hear. For so long, he was scared of what people would think of him. That he was tainted or evil for just trying to survive a shitty situation. But Shiro told him he wasn’t a bad person. He didn’t treat Keith any differently. He listened. He _understood_.

Keith must have done something amazing in his past life to get a brother like Shiro.

“So now that we’ve had that serious talk, how about we lighten the mood?”

“Yes please.” Keith wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

Shiro chuckled. “Alright, well for starters, I think you and that Lance kid would make a cute couple.”

“Shiro. What the _fuck_.”

“What? I’m just saying, you two looked good together. And your story was so sweet! Minus the whole double life thing.”

“I’m taking my mattress and leaving.” Keith rolled onto his stomach inching along the floor like some sort of worm.

“Come on, kiddo. I’m just saying—“

“I’m ignoring you.”

“Keith—“

“Nope. Can’t hear you.”

“But we were having a moment.”

“Not anymore. Moment over. Forever. Bye.” Keith crawled the rest of the way to his room, ignoring Shiro’s laughter. After slamming his door shut, he realized that he left his new books on the kitchen table. He darted out his room and grabbed them before Shiro could say anything else stupid.

The conversation had gone…good? Really good actually. Keith felt like the weight sitting heavy on his shoulders had been lifted. It was still there, it was always there, but suddenly it had become a little easier to bear.

Keith spent the rest of his night sitting by his new bookshelf. He diligently read the back of every book, placing them on the shelf with care.

* * *

 

Matt hunched over his laptop, scribbling notes on a nearby pad of paper. Allura had just given them their next assignment and they were in the midst of planning.

“It looks like the guy has a Kepler Security system, but he’s behind on his software update.” Matt’s fingers were flying across the keyboard. “Maybe I can pose as a security guy and get an up close look at his set up.”

“That could work.” Keith nodded. “Then you could get an idea where the safe is.”

“Oo, good point.”

The pair were settled in Allura’s kitchen. They sat next to each other at the wide granite island, surrounded by paper. Matt was busy on his computer, while Keith was going over the items that he needed to grab.

Their target was a collector, and his hoard was made up of some pretty impressive treasures. The house he lived in was nearly as big as Allura’s, but ten times more gaudy. It looked like he was the type of person who liked to flaunt his wealth.

According to one of their sources, the target in question had been involved in some black market trading, and had items in his possession of historic value. Things that shouldn’t be in the hands of some greedy collector, and instead returned to their rightful place. Honestly, he sounded like the type of person Keith would have run in to while working for Marmora.

Keith played with the small kitchen knife he found. He flipped it around, occasionally balancing the tip of the blade on his finger. It was a weird habit to have, but really it helped him think.

Originally he and Matt had come in here intending to find a snack, but got distracted with work instead. Keith’s stomach grumbled to remind him.

“Does Allura have chips?” he asked.

Matt shrugged. “Sometimes. Fair warning, they might be healthy. Like, kale chips or something.”

“Gross.”

The door swung open a few moments later. Hunk came bustling in, his arms carrying multiple grocery bags.

“Oh good! People are here.” He set his things down on the counter and began unloading.

“Hey, Hunk.” Matt waved without looking up from his computer. Keith glanced over to the screen and saw that Matt was currently making himself a Kepler Security ID badge.

“Do you guys mind trying out a few things for me?” Hunk asked.

Keith looked at all the food items currently taking up counter space. There was pasta, grapes, ground turkey, and a squash. There was a can of Spam in the mix too. It didn’t look like it was all going to go into one meal, which sort of confused Keith.

Hunk didn’t actually work for Allura. He was a mechanic at his mom’s shop with a heavy interest in the culinary arts. According to Matt, Hunk and Lance’s families had known each other for years. In high school, Hunk and his parents moved back to Hawaii to be with the rest of their family. It wasn’t until recently when they relocated to Arus City that he and Lance got back in touch.

It explained why Lance never mentioned Hunk before, but it was still a little weird. From the way everyone talked about the pair, it seemed that Hunk and Lance were inseparable. Best friends through thick and thin.

Keith wasn’t jealous. No way, no how. Besides, he couldn’t dislike Hunk even if he tried. The man picked him up off the side of the rode for crying out loud. Hunk had earned Keith’s gold stamp of approval easily.

But it was still weird not knowing about Hunk until now. With everything that Lance used to talk about, it seemed like he left out some pretty important things. Keith wasn’t jealous, but maybe he was a little hurt.

Matt finally looked up from his screen. “Are you trying a new recipe?”

“Yep! It came to me in a dream.” Hunk sighed.

“Well I’m down. I’m starving. Keith?”

Keith shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”

“Awesome.” Hunk got to work right away. By the look of things, he worked in this kitchen a lot. Hunk knew where everything was. Every pot and pan, every spoon and spatula. He worked with utter confidence and, for a moment, Keith was distracted. It was pretty fun to watch.

He was so distracted that he didn’t notice the person sliding up on his right.

“Whoa, that looks cool.” Pidge (Katie? Keith wasn’t too sure. He’d hear her respond to both) was sitting next to him. She was leafing through the photos Keith was staring at earlier.

“Uh, hi?”

Pidge looked up at him. Her round glasses made her gaze all the more intense. “Wow, you are awkward.”

“ _Katie_ ,” Matt scolded.

“What? It was all Lance could talk about for days. That and that you were a showoff.”

Keith blinked at the girl. “He…said that?”

“Yeah. But to be honest, I think he was just a little intimidated. I mean, I saw the footage of you guys playing Hide and Seek. You’re really good.”

“Um, thanks?”

Pidge grinned. “No problem. Oh, and I don’t think we’ve officially met. I’m Katie, but you can call me Pidge.”

Keith shook her hand. “Nice to officially meet you. I’m Keith.”

“I know. What I don’t know is how Allura found you. What were you doing before you came to work for the Alliance?”

Before Keith could come up with an answer, Matt shut his laptop. “Katie, aren’t you and Lance supposed to be going over _your_ next job?”

Pidge shrugged. “Technically we don‘t have anything right now. Allura thought about sending Lance with you guys, but she seems pretty confident that Keith doesn’t need help. So we’re in limbo for a bit.”

_Huh,_ Keith thought. That was interesting. Keith didn’t expect to be trusted with so much so fast. Usually, there was a curve to this sort of thing. The people who had been there longer were given more. Jobs with better pay, more resources, and what not. The fact that Allura was already trusting Keith and Matt with so many jobs on their own was pretty crazy. They hadn’t even been partners for very long.

“Lunch is served!” Hunk exclaimed.

All plotting was put on hold while Hunk served lunch. Keith and Matt quickly cleaned off the counter and set their things aside.

Lunch was much simpler then Keith imagined, but still damn delicious. Hunk had made turkey burgers with melted cheese on the inside. Throw in some homemade potato chips and Keith was in awe. It was simple, but Hunk somehow made it magical.

The four of them ate at the counter. Hunk was half eating, half cleaning up the kitchen. He wasn’t completely done yet, Keith noticed. There was a tray full of cookies slowly baking in the oven.

“That was great, Hunk.” Matt sighed happily. “I feel like I’m going to burst. Or go into a food coma. Or both.”

Pidge leaned back in her chair. “Maybe if you chewed your food instead of inhaling it, then you wouldn’t feel so bloated.”

“Have you even eaten anything yet? You peck at your food like bird, _Pigeon_.”

“Is that where the nickname comes from?” Keith asked. It probably wasn’t the best idea to get in the middle of two siblings bickering, but Keith didn’t really care. That and he was already literally sitting between them, so it couldn’t get much worse.

Matt shook his head. “Nah, but it fits. The real story is long and old and to be honest, I don’t really remember it all.”

“You gave me the name, Matthew,” Pidge grumbled. “You’re the one who’s supposed to remember.”

“Well I don’t. But from now on the official story is that you eat like a bird. Deal?”

“No deal!”

“Ugh.”

Keith quietly scooted his chair back and exited the conversation. He took his plate to the sink and began to wash it.

“Thanks, man.” Hunk smiled, slipping on a pair of oven mittens.

“Thank you for making lunch.”

“It’s no problem. I love it when there are people around to try my stuff. That and I just love coming over here to use the kitchen. I mean, the kitchen at my place is great, but this place is amazing.”

Keith chuckled. “Pretty much everything in this house is better than anything I own.”

The Holt siblings were still bickering at the kitchen island. Some of the words didn’t even sound like they were in English, they were talking so fast.

Hunk bent down to check his cookies, opening the oven to peek inside. He mumbled something and then closed the oven door again.

“Few more minutes and they should be good.” He nodded. “So, I haven’t been able to talk to you much since I saw you again. How are things?”

“Things are…pretty good.” Keith leaned against the counter and smiled a little. Things were pretty good, petty arguments with Lance aside. He had a job, an apartment, a brother, and…friends? Maybe he had friends. It kind of felt like he had friends.

“That’s great, man. Who would have guessed that we’d run into each other again, huh?”

“It’s pretty crazy,” Keith agreed.

“Yeah…” Hunk bit his lip. He looked over at Pidge and Matt before speaking again. His voice was much quieter. “It’s, uh, it’s pretty crazy that you and Lance…”

Keith didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but he felt his breath catch in his throat. He kept his voice even. “That me and Lance what?”

“That you and Lance knew each other too. Before all this.”

Keith wasn’t sure how many more of these surprises he could take. Even though his double life was behind him, it was still finding ways to bite him in the ass.

“Look Hunk—“

“I don’t really know everything,” Hunk cut him off as gently as he could. “Lance came home one night looking really down. It took hours, but I got him to talk a little. He mentioned you a lot, but didn’t go into detail. I called his sister Veronica to get more info.”

“You went behind his back?” Keith was more surprised by that then anything. Hunk seemed too sweet to do something like that.

The big guy looked a little sheepish and then shrugged. “Yeah…I have a bad habit of sticking my nose places I shouldn’t. I can’t help it sometimes. I’m a snoop. You should have seen the day Pidge found out I read her diary.” Hunk turned back to the oven and opened the door. “Vero told me of a guy that Lance met in high school named Keith, and the fact that he left pretty suddenly. She said that Lance took it kind of hard.”

Keith traced circles on his palm, listening intently. Matt and Pidge were still completely oblivious to their conversation.

Hunk took his cookies out of the oven to cool. He switched it off and took off the oven mitts.

“I don’t really know you Keith, but from what I do know, you don’t seem like that kind of guy.”

“What kind of guy is that?” Keith asked quietly.

“An asshole.”

Keith snorted. Hearing Hunk swear was almost as funny as Shiro.

“Look, man, I just got to know. Are you going to hurt Lance again?”

“Of course not. I didn’t even want to hurt him in the first place.”

Hunk nodded. “That’s good to hear. I just, well, I hadn’t seen him that down in a long time. That’s why I had to go to his sister to try and figure out what was up. Lance doesn’t always let people know when he’s upset.”

Keith didn’t know that. All his memories of Lance led Keith to believe that he was a pretty happy, stable person.

Hunk really _knew_ Lance. Knew him in a way that Keith never did, and probably never would. There was so much he still didn’t know.

_How can I still feel so strongly about a person and know next to nothing about them?_ Keith thought solemnly.

Before the cookies were cool enough to eat, Keith left the kitchen. His head was swarmed with all kinds of thoughts and he just needed to get away.

* * *

 

The main word Hunk used to describe the apartment he shared with Lance was comfortable. There was a mixture of hand-me-down furniture and newer Ikea pieces that made the place a little quirky. The two bookshelves were practically bursting with knickknacks and videogames. Any actual book was lying in a pile on one of the tables because Hunk could never decide what to read first.

There were four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Pretty luxurious for city living. The reason for such a large space was because Hunk’s mother’s garage was two stories below them. She owned the entire building and gave them one hell of a deal on rent.

Hunk and Lance choose to live on the top floor to escape some of the noise of the garage on the ground floor. That and Lance liked to pretend that they were living in a penthouse.

When Hunk unlocked the door, Pidge was already there.

“Hey Pidge. Is Lance here?” Hunk asked.

“Yep. He’s in the shower. Should be another hour or so.”

Moments later, Lance came strolling down the hall in his robe. There was a towel wrapped around his head and a few bottles of cream in his hands.

“Rude, Pidgey. Rude.”

The small girl shrugged. She had a point, of course. The longest Lance had ever been in the shower was two and a half hours because he just _had_ to belt out the whole Hamilton soundtrack perfectly. Hunk didn’t mind, but then again, they had two bathrooms.

Lance sat on the couch crossed-legged and set his things down on the coffee table.

“Alright, _mi amigos_ , hit me.”

It had been exactly two weeks since Hunk and Pidge had begun spying on Keith. It was for Lance, and Hunk was ready to do anything for his best friend, but it still felt weird. Regardless, he joined his friends in the living room and sat in one of the chairs.

“Well, beside the conversation I had with him in the kitchen a last week, I haven’t really seen him.” Hunk twirled his thumbs. “Well I did talk to him once, but that wasn’t really anything important. He just couldn’t figure out how to put his new phone into military time.”

“Keith and Matt have been super busy lately,” Pidge commented.

“Yeah, what’s that about?” Lance asked as he rubbed moisturizer onto his face. “I swear like every time I turn around, they’re off gallivanting to some job. Working that much can’t be healthy.”

“I don’t really understand how your job works, but don’t you like, need time to plan a robbery?” Hunk asked.

Pidge nodded. “Depends on the job, but Keith and Matt are plotting _and_ stealing all in the same day. I mean, maybe the marks are pretty easy, but I’m pretty sure they broke into the Arus Natural History Museum last night. The security there is insane. Matt said that Keith scaled the building with no equipment.”

“What the damn hell?!” Lance nearly dropped his moisturizer. “How did he pull that off?”

“How should I know? I work with tech. You’re the one who actually steals things.”

Lance crossed his arms and grumbled. It looked like he was trying not to pout.

Hunk had gotten most of the story about Lance’s history with Keith from Lance’s sister, Veronica. She was only a year older then him and probably the sibling he was closest too. Hunk was pretty shocked to find out that the Keith he picked up on the side of the road was the same guy that broke Lance’s heart in high school. The odds were just incredible.

From every interaction Hunk had with Keith, he seemed like a cool guy. A little stilted in conversations, definitely more introverted, but overall a good guy. Hunk couldn’t even begin to figure out what could have happened to Keith that made him drop Lance like a hot scone out of the oven. It just…it didn’t _fit_. It didn’t match up with the person Hunk was growing to know.

Pidge had pulled out her phone and begun listing off the things she found out.

“I tried finding out from Matt just where Keith came from, but he changed the topic. Multiple times. One time he literally ran out of the room. My dumb brother’s really bad at lying and he probably knew that if he stuck around, I would get the info out of him somehow.”

“Accurate.” Lance nodded.

“But, funny thing, he left his laptop.” Pidge handed her phone to Lance. “There wasn’t too much about Keith on their besides work stuff and the address where he lives. I was hoping for like, a video or maybe a transcript from whatever agency he came from—you alright Lance?”

It took a while for Pidge to notice, but Hunk saw it immediately. It was like a best friend sixth sense. Lance was staring at Pidge’s phone, his mouth slightly open and eyes distant. It was like he wasn’t even looking at the screen. Like he was gazing at something far away.

“Lance? You okay buddy?” Hunk leaned forward, putting his hand on Lance’s knee.

“Huh? Oh…y-yeah, I’m fine.” He blinked a few times and handed the phone back to Pidge. “Thanks, Pidge. Do you think you can send that to me?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Great. Thanks.” Lance stood, leaving his stuff on the table.

“Lance?” Hunk was ready to stand but Lance motioned for him to stay.

“I’m good, big guy. Just a little tired. I’m gonna…I’m going to lay down.”

Pidge and Hunk watched as Lance drifted down the hall. They both waited until the door was shut to talk. Hunk moved to the couch to sit next to Pidge.

“What did you show him?”

“Nothing really?” Pidge whispered. “Here.”

Hunk took the phone and began to read. There really wasn’t much. Tons of notes from Matt, emails and a few pictures. The only thing actually interesting was a rough composite of a state ID with Keith’s face on it.

“Matt made him an ID?” Hunk asked. “Is that normal?”

“Not really. Oh, and another weird thing about that,” Pidge scrolled down on the phone. “Here it says that Keith’s last name is ‘Kogane’, but on the ID his name is ‘Shirogane’.”

“He changed his name? Why?”

“I don’t know. I was going to do a search on both names, but I got distracted. Rover blew a circuit.”

The conversation switched topics when Pidge brought up her handmade drone. Hunk was highly invested in Rover since he welded many of the parts himself.

Pidge sent all the information she’d found on Keith to Lance and then her and Hunk went over the blueprints for Rover.

Later that night, after Lance didn’t come out for dinner, Hunk grew more concerned.

Pidge had left a few hours ago after Hunk helped her work through the issues with Rover. Hunk busied himself with making dinner, but he couldn’t let go of the feeling that something was bothering Lance. Something more than he was letting on.

Hunk sprinkled cinnamon over the whipped topping of his famous hot chocolate. He carefully picked up the mug and headed down the hall to Lance’s room. Once at the door, he knocked softly.

“Lance?” he called out. “I made hot chocolate. Do you want some?”

Hunk’s offer was met with silence. There was still a dim light shining under the door, and Hunk could have sworn he heard the intro to _Brooklyn 99_ a few seconds ago, but it didn’t seem like Lance was coming to the door.

Hunk had learned long ago that when it came to his best friend, Lance’s silence could speak just as loudly as his words.

With quiet steps, Hunk went back to the kitchen. In times like this, Lance needed something a little more than just a drink. Hunk grabbed the biggest bowl they had and fished out two bags of popcorn from their pantry. Before he went to bed, Hunk made sure to text his roommate telling him there was warm popcorn outside his door and a thermos of hot chocolate.

Mere seconds after the message sent, Hunk heard Lance’s bedroom door creek open.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Quick note: the next chapter is in fact done and ready to post, but I going to hold off a bit on posting. Not too long tho (like usual lol) but I'm probs going to post it before I go on vacation next week. 
> 
> Why am I telling you this? Idk. I just felt like it :D Thanks again!
> 
>  
> 
> [fic playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7NCqaPlsQZbK0VVgTYwxhiz6CMAuw65w)


	7. The Sound of You and Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someday everything ends  
> Can we begin  
> Finding our way back before we're too late  
> And lost in between  
> The truth and the dream  
> I've never been more ready to move on

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song [Sound of You and Me](https://youtu.be/hu05hlfUwe4) by Yellowcard. 
> 
> Posting this now cuz this week it going to be hell and this will just be one less thing for me to remember to do. 
> 
> Thanks to [annalyia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalyia/pseuds/annalyia) for all her help :D

Every person had a breaking point.

Every relationship had a hurdle to either jump over or stumble upon.

For Keith and Lance, this moment came during the middle of a party.

 

Keith couldn’t for the life of him figure out what was going on. Allura had informed him just last week that he was ‘highly encouraged’ to come to a party to her house the following weekend. Judging from her tone, ‘highly encouraged’ actually meant ‘you have to come or else’. After a conversation with Matt, Keith realized he was right.

“Yeah, Allura does this every few months.” He sighed, diving into another rack of clothes. Matt had taken Keith to the wardrobe; a room in Allura’s house practically bursting with clothes. In all honesty it looked like a thrift store with all the odd garments packed together.

Keith sat on the floor in the middle of the room, actively not participating. “Why do I have to go?”

“Well, Allura likes to have all her people there. I mean, some pretty important guests are going to be there.”

“Really? Like who?”

“Oh, just a couple of billionaires, a CEO or two, couple of clients, and other freelance thieves that we’ve worked with in the past.”

“This sounds like Allura wants to show us off,” Keith grumbled. Matt shrugged.

“Kind of. Got to make sure our place in the underground world is solid, y’know? Too small and we get overlooked for jobs and resources. Too big and we might become targets ourselves. It’s all a balancing act.”

“This is much more political then I remember.” Keith fell back and sprawled out on the floor.

“Well, you were never in the political side,” Matt explained. “There’s a lot more that goes into this then I think anybody realizes.”

Keith agreed with that. There was a huge difference from a causal bank robber and the stuff that he and Matt did. It was the thieves you didn’t hear about that were the most successful.

For the rest of the afternoon, Matt helped Keith find an outfit for the party. Keith groaned when Matt told him that he’d need to get it tailored, but on the upside this meant that Keith wouldn’t have to search for another suit for a while.

With his new outfit in hand, Keith headed out the door. He nearly ran smack into Lance’s forehead.

“Oh, uh, shit, sorry I almost hit you.” Keith felt his cheeks flush, a common occurrence around Lance for a few weeks now.

“It’s fine.” Lance didn’t say anything else as he strode past Keith an into the wardrobe room. Keith heard Matt say hello to Lance, only to be met with the same short response.

“That was weird…” Keith mumbled. Matt joined him in the hall a few moments later, frowning.

“Yeah.” He sighed. “I wonder…no, that can’t be it.”

“What?”

“Well, Pidge might have mentioned something the other day. About Lance.”

Keith nodded, glancing at the closed door.

“I guess Lance is a little frustrated that we keep getting the higher paying jobs.”

“Really?” That was…unexpected. Truthfully, Keith hadn’t realized that there was a difference. He just wasn’t used to knowing what his other teammates were doing, so he never thought to check.

“Yeah. Him and Pidge used to get everything around here, and now—“

“Now I’m here,” Keith finished. _Well,_ Keith thought. _This might be a problem._

Keith tired not to dwell on it as he made his way home.

* * *

 

Lance couldn’t help but dwell on it all. There was a weird restlessness in his limbs that made something as simple as sitting a chore. Lance had the tendency to complain about things, and even Pidge called him out saying that this was exactly what he had been hoping for not two months ago. After all, when was the last time he had a vacation?

If it had been anyone else taking over, Lance might have been okay with it. He might have accepted the change with little complaining. But it was Keith. Keith was stealing his jobs. And Lance couldn’t help but let his frustrations grow.

The night of the party came sooner than any of them realized. Lance strolled up to the mansion with Pidge at his side. Both of them were dressed and ready to go for a night of impressing all of Allura’s fancy guests.

Everything was fine until Lance wandered into the same room as Keith. It was like looking at him set a timer, Lance’s irritation rising with each passing tick. It was sort of funny that a boy he barely knew could get such a rise out of him. Before everything that had happened, Lance would have sworn up and down that he didn’t have a temper.  Apparently, Keith was the kryptonite that broke that rule.

Keith and his stupid hair and pretty eyes. Keith who took nearly every job Allura had to offer, leaving Lance in the dust. Keith, who for some reason had three last names and never bothered to tell Lance the truth.

There was probably more to be angry about, but Lance was too busy trying to calm down to be sure.

The wide ballroom was filled with lilting voices and the quiet clamor of cutlery. There was a buffet table near the back that was laid out with rich food that Hunk would positively fawn over. Lance had already made his roomie a plate and hid it in the fridge to grab later.  

“Stop staring.” Pidge elbowed him in the ribs.

“Ow! Pidge, what the hell?”

“Don’t play dumb, Lance. We all know it’s just an act. Well, most of the time.”

Lance frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. From the corner of his eye he could see the yet another person step up to Keith. He was practically surrounded by socialites.

“Usually, I’d think that you’re checking him out, but judging by the massive stink eye you’re giving him I guess not.” Pidge stepped around until she was standing on Lance’s opposite side. She wasn’t tall enough to block his view, but his attention was diverted nonetheless.

“What do you want, Pidge?” he sighed.

“I want you to get over whatever problem you seemed to have with Keith,” she said bluntly. “I mean, it seemed like you two were getting along fine until the other day. Then you started acting all…weird.”

Lance took a sip from his drink and avoided making eye contact with his feisty friend.

“I swear if you two don’t solve your problems, I will lock the both of you in a room until all this stupid tension is gone. Then I can go on with my day without worrying about you.”

“You’re…worried about me?” Lance asked.

Pidge rolled her eyes and gently leaned into Lance’s side. “You’re a dumbass, but you’re my dumbass. I’ve known you long enough to see that something's bothering you. So, yeah. I’m worried.”

“Aw, Pidge. You _do_ have feelings.”

“That’s still up for debate.” She pinched Lance’s side and spun around. “You don’t have to do anything tonight, but just…just don’t let whatever this is linger. It’s no fun picking on you when you look like a kicked puppy.”

Lance smiled, watching Pidge walk over to the buffet to meet her brother. It was a wonder how someone three years younger than him was so damn smart.

Feeling infinitely better after his talk with Pidge, Lance was determined finally settle things with Keith. After the party, Lance would pull Keith aside and ask to talk sometime soon and actually follow through. Lance would ask his questions, demand his answers, and go from there.

It was a solid plan. But as the night wore on, Lance’s convictions began to sway.

Maybe it was the way people seemed drawn to Keith. The high class figures of the underground world were enamored with Keith and asked him all sorts of questions about the recent jobs he pulled. They praised him, commented on his youth and skills. One man even locked the bathroom door just to see how fast Keith could pick the lock.

And Keith went along with it all. Basking in the attention, or so Lance believed. He hated to admit it, but jealousy was burning in the pit of Lance’s chest.

Lance made small talk when he could. He chatted with Nyma and Rollo, complemented Plaxum when she walked by in a shimmering dress. Lance did everything he could to keep his attention off of Keith. But he kept getting drawn back. Like a damn moth to a flame.

Allura had mentioned just how important it was to impress the party guests. There were some pretty powerful figures of the underground world in his room, and pissing on off could land all of the Voltron Alliance in some hot water. Lance knew he had to try to mingle, but with Keith weighing down his thoughts, going up to a stranger to start a conversation felt impossible.

Lance wasn’t too sure what finally set him over the edge. Perhaps it had something to do with the drunken older woman latched on to Keith’s arm or the fact that the buffet had run out of mini quiches. The real cause probably had to do with the fact that Lance walked by Keith and his posse the moment Drunk Lady asked, “how long have you been in the business.”

Keith didn’t hesitate when he answered, “since I was ten.”

And the next thing Lance knew, his hand was curled into a fist and his was heading straight for Keith.

* * *

 

Keith could barely keep up with what was happening. His eye was throbbing and Matt’s arms around his waist were surprisingly strong. As much Keith wanted to lunge at Lance again, Matt refused to let him go.

Rollo had the unfortunate job of wrangling Lance. His long limbs made it hard for Rollo to get a solid grip. However, Lance seemed a little more contained when Nyma tugged his ear.

Both Keith and Lance were shouting as they were pulled down the hall. They were yelling at each other, at the people surrounding them, hell, Keith even cursed the tie he was wearing because it was a little too tight.

All the sudden, the two boys were flung into one of the guests rooms. With a loud bang, the doors shut.

Pidge and Matt had actually locked all the exits. There was a loud crash from outside that sounded like the bookshelf Allura had just put in the adjoining room. The door creaked as the bookshelf was pressed against it.

Keith stalked over to the window and tried to swing open the latch. He jumped back moments later.

“ _Fuck—_ what the hell?”

“I’d stay away from the windows if I were you.” Pidge's voice was muffled by the door, but her words were clear. “Unless you like getting shocked. If you say yes, I’m kink shaming you.” 

“ _Pidge_ ,” Matt groaned. “You’re scaring your brother.”

“I’m not five anymore, Matt.”

“In my mind, you will always be five and precious and in pigtails.”

There was half aborted swear followed by Matt wheezing. Pidge must have elbowed him in the stomach again. From the sound of it, Nyma was holding back a laugh.

Lance slammed his hand on the door. “Katie, open this door.”

“No.”

“Pidge!”

“I’m not letting the two of you out of here until you work through your bullshit,” she snapped.

Keith looked over to Lance. His shoulders were trembling. He took a deep breath and stared at the closed door with a fierce gaze.

“This isn’t going to solve anything.” Lance’s voice was low, more intense then Keith could ever remember. “Locking us in a room isn’t going to work. So just…just quit butting into our business!”

“You made it everyone’s business when you two blew up tonight!” Pidge shouted back. “And even before that! You two have been fighting ever since Keith got here and, believe it or not, we’ve noticed. We’re all sick and tired of your shit, and you need to work it out. I even told you this an hour ago, Lance! If you don’t figure this out, then—”

“I will be forced to ask the both of you to leave.” Allura’s voice echoed in the room, even thought she was nowhere in sight. Keith jumped, looking around for a moment to confirm that she wasn’t there.

She sounded deadly serious. “I have done more than enough for the both of you that I feel as though I have earned the right to do so. Both of you have disrespected the opportunities I have given you by acting so childish and selfish tonight. I don’t know the cause of you argument, hell I don’t even care. What I do care about is the Alliance that my family built, and I will not allow the two of you to ruin our reputation.”

Lance hadn’t moved an inch from where he was standing. The tremor in his shoulders was gone and instead he looked frozen on the spot.

Keith however, couldn’t stop his hands from shaking.

“I expect the two of you to come to an agreement,” Allura went on. “You don’t have to be friends, for all I care you can pretend the other is invisible, but you must find a way to work together when needed. Otherwise, you know the consequences.”

Keith gulped, the tremor in his hands moving up his arms. He couldn’t lose his job with Allura. He just couldn’t. Without her, he’d be forced to go back to the normal world. There was no way he and Shiro could afford their apartment with just Shiro’s wages. The strain would be too much.

He just couldn’t…he _couldn’t_. Keith couldn’t lose this job.

It was finally beginning to feel like he’d found a place to belong.

“Do you understand me?” Allura asked.

Lance nodded once before he spoke. “Yes.”

“Keith?”

“I understand,” he said quietly.

“Good. I will be back in the morning. Rolo, Nyma, thank you for your help. Matt, Pidge, ensure that they can’t leave and then you’re all dismissed.”

“Yes ma’am,” Matt answered for him and his sister.

There was some shuffling outside, the sound of heels clacking against the tile floor and then silence. Keith had never understood the phrase ‘heavy silence’ until that moment. It pressed down on him, making his chest hurt from the pressure. It felt like it was getting harder to breath, but it wasn’t an attack. No, this was something different.

Keith glanced around and dragged his feet to the nearest chair. The room they had ended up in was one of the guest suites. There was a sitting room, bathroom and then a bedroom just off to the right. Plenty of places to hide if he needed to.

Not that he should have to, but the option was still there in case he needed a place to calm down.

Lance was still staring at the door as Keith tugged on his tie. He let the soft fabric fall to the floor and began to undo the first few buttons on his shirt. His lip stung from where Lance had managed to split the skin.

“I don’t want to do this,” Lance murmured.

Keith wasn’t surprised by his words, or even by the tone. He figured that was a good thing. This was probably how Lance was going to be talking to him from here on out. After tonight, Keith was sure there was nothing left for them to salvage.

It tore his tired heart.

“Yeah, well, we have to.”

Lance stood at the door for a moment longer and then swiftly went to the bedroom. The door slammed shut and Keith was left alone.

_Great. Just great._

This was exactly the kind of bullshit Keith had expected. Why couldn’t Lance just…just…

Why couldn’t he just _grow up_?

Keith practically stomped over to the bathroom, tearing off his jacket and tossing it to the floor. He splashed cool water on his face, careful of his lip. His cheek was red and stung whenever he touched it. It was probably going to bruise.

Lance wasn’t too much better, but at least Keith had the decency to avoid hitting him in the face (his _stupid_ face). Now, Keith was going to have to walk into his shared apartment with Shiro and explain what happened. Wonderful.

The bedroom door opened quickly, banging against the wall. Keith didn’t even bother looking up.

“Let’s get this over with.” Lance crossed the room and sat at the edge of the couch. His knee was bouncing with nervous energy.

“Fine.” Patting his face dry with a towel, Keith joined Lance in the sitting room. He sat as far away from the other boy as possible.

“First things first, I’m sorry about punching you in the face and pulling your hair.”

“Apology accepted.” Keith nodded. “And I’m sorry about tossing you and kicking you in the stomach.”

“Accepted.” 

With the most recent matters taken care of, now it was time to move on to the more complicated parts. However, Keith had no idea where to start.

Lance’s knee kept bouncing. Faster and faster until he resembled a cartoon rabbit. His hands were clasped together, elbows on his knees and eye boring holes into the carpet. All Keith could do was stare.

“Okay.” Suddenly, Lance stood. He walked behind the couch and began pacing. “I don’t know where to even start or really what to say so I’m just going to start taking and hopefully something sensical comes out.”

“Uh…I don’t think ‘sensical’ is a word,” Keith blurted out.

“It is now. I just pulled a Shakespeare. Now.” Lance stopped, turning to face Keith full on. “I said some pretty shitty things tonight, and so did you. But I have grounds for what I said and what I’m feeling. As far as I know, you’re just being an asshole.”

Keith felt like a fire had just torn through his chest. “… _what_!?”

“Keith. I know nothing about you because all you’ve done since we’ve met is lied to me! Everything that’s happened, all that time in school, you showing up and then finding out that you even lied to me about your _name_? How the hell am I supposed to believe anything that comes out of your mouth!?”

“Hey, I may have lied about somethings, but it wasn’t like I wanted to. I was more honest with you than anyone else before in my life!”

“Oh yeah? Except for Matt and Allura, huh?” Lance scoffed. “Every time Pidge or Hunk or I asked them about how they recruited you all we got is the same cryptic bullshit.”

Keith recoiled. “You asked them about me? You had Hunk and Pidge— you went behind my back and asked _Allura_ about me? What the hell, Lance? You could’ve—“

“Nah-uh, nope!” Lance held up his hands. “Don’t you _dare_ say I could have asked you. It’s your inability to talk that’s gotten us locked here in the first place.”

“Well, maybe if you hadn’t acted like such an ass to me, I would have been more open to talk!”

“Maybe if you weren’t such a showoff and actually took a breath between jobs, then I would have the chance!”

“I’m not a showoff! I’m just doing my job.”

“Oh please, you just love those big fat paychecks, don’t lie.”

“Of course I do! I spent years working myself to my limits and getting nothing. Of course I’m going to enjoy the money.”

Lance was gripping the back of the couch, his knuckles white. “Whatever. You’re just—you’re just a big-headed, lying asshole who I never should have wasted my time with.”

Keith flinched, like the words actually struck him. “You…you’re such a dick, you know that right?”

Keith didn’t realize that he was still sitting down. He could have sworn that he was up and moving just as much as Lance, but no. Keith was sitting with his feet planted on the floor. His hands were gripping the arms of the chair so hard it was likely that the fabric would rip.

He was never good when it came to someone yelling directly at him. It reminded him of when he was a young pickpocket for Marmora, still living on the streets. People always yelled at him back then.

“I-I never wanted this.” Keith’s voice felt like it was going to crack at any moment, but he kept it steady. He had to. “When I saw you again I thought th-that…I thought that I was _lucky_. That maybe, things could go back to the way they were. But then, you acted like you didn’t even know me.”

He couldn’t see Lance’s expression. The other boy had turned, his hands clenched into fists at his side. Keith wasn’t even sure if he was listening, but he kept talking anyway.

“You didn’t have to shut me out like that, Lance. You didn’t have to act like that. All I wanted was to make things right, but I never felt like I had a chance.”

“Well maybe you shouldn’t have left me in the first place!” Lance spun around, his blue eyes shimmering. “You…you _left_. You’re the one that screwed everything up. You’re the one that’s to blame for all this shit. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be in this mess right now!”

“Yeah,” Keith croaked. “It’s all about you, isn’t it?”

Keith arms were shaking as he stood. All he wanted to do was curl up in bed and hid under the covers. This was just too hard.

Making his way to the window, Keith stared at the garden below.

“That’s not true though, is it?” Keith murmured.  “You do care about people. I’m just…not one of them. I’m the one person in this entire goddamn world that you don’t give a shit about.”

Keith hugged himself a little tighter. Everything Lance had said, blaming Keith for their current predicament, he understood. Or better yet, he blamed himself for it all too.

“I saw you, y’know.” Lance was still standing behind the couch. By the look of it, a few tears had managed to fall from his eyes. He quickly wiped them away.

“What do you mean?” Keith asked.

“That day, at school. When you left.” Lance took a shuddering breath. “I was waiting for you near the parking lot. I-I wanted to walk you to class.” 

Keith felt like he was going to throw up. He had no idea Lance had been there.

“You walked away,” Lance said quietly. “At first I thought you’d forgotten something or whatever, but then you didn’t come back. You never _came back_.”

Lance slowly walked around the couch, sitting on the edge. All the frustrated energy he had earlier was gone.

“The first few days, I kind of held on to some hope that you were coming back. But then a week passed, a month. Soon enough, the school year was ending.”

The wind outside had died. The air was completely still.

“Do you want to know my theories?” Lance asked, a ghost of a smile on his lips. Keith nodded stiffly. “First, aliens, but that seemed cliché. Then I was pretty convinced that you or your parents had been in some horrible accident. I went to the principle and everything, but he just told me that you had withdrawn. Which leads me to my last theory. The one that, for a long time, I believed.”

Keith’s throat felt dry. “What was that?”

Lance shifted uncomfortably on the couch. His hands were clasped together tightly. Taking a quick breath, Lance looked up. “I…I thought that it was _me_. I figured that there was just something about me that pushed you away. Th-that I had done something or said something that made you leave.”

“…what?” Keith took a step back, overwhelmed by Lance’s confession. Never, not in a million years, did Keith think that Lance would feel that way. He never imagined that this perfect, wonderful person in front of him could ever think that about himself.

Before Keith felt like he was going to vomit. Now he felt like there wasn’t anything inside him to even give up.

Well, there was one thing.

Keith knew he couldn’t trust his words. It was hard enough trying to breathe normally that he couldn’t imagine actually trying to speak. He was also pretty positive that Lance wouldn’t believe anything he had to say. Years of lying would do that.

Now was the time to tell the truth.

Keith went to the door, Lance watching him. He knocked quietly. “I know you’re still out there, Pidge.”

There was a few beats of silence, and then, “How the hell do you _do_ that?”

Keith cracked a small smile. “I’ll tell you later. Uh, can you do me a favor?”

“Maybe? Depends on what it is.”

“I need you to go to Matt and grab my file. Tell him I said it’s okay.”

“What are you talking about, Keith? Allura doesn’t keep files on us. She says that it’s too ‘impersonal’ or whatever.”

Keith could just imagine Pidge, standing on the other side of the door. She probably was surrounded by mechanical pieces, working on some project while she eavesdropped. Her bangs would be corralled by two headbands because one just wasn’t enough. She’d probably also be frowning, trying to use her big brain and figure out what the hell Keith was talking about.

“I…I’m the exception. Just ask Matt, okay?”

“Okay. He crashed in one of the guest rooms. I’ll be right back.”

“Thanks.”

Keith waited until he couldn’t hear Pidge’s footsteps anymore. Even then, he still didn’t feel ready to look at Lance again.

“What was that about?” Lance asked. He sounded better. Less dejected and more confused.

“I’m getting you your answers.”

Keith waited by the door for Pidge to come back. With every second that passed, he felt his heart beat a little faster.

This moment was a long time coming, and pushing it off had only given Keith’s worries time to grow. He should have taken the first chance he got and explained everything to Lance. His time with Marmora, his training, what happened that caused him to leave.

Nothing could erase the look Lance had on his face when he spoke. Keith couldn’t believe Lance had felt like he’d driven Keith away all those years ago. But at the very least, Keith could help Lance realize that it had nothing to do with him. It was Keith and Keith alone who fucked everything up.

There was a sound outside the door. Furniture scraping along the tile floor. The door unlocked and Matt appeared. In his hand was the thick file Keith remembered from the first time he met Allura.

Matt eyed him, glancing over at Lance. “Hey. I just wanted to make sure you wanted this.”

“I do.”

“Okay. Well it’s all in there, Keith. _Everything_.” Matt emphasized the word, looking at Lance again.

“I know. I…I should have done this sooner.”

Matt handed him the folder, offering a supportive smile. He stepped out and Keith and Lance were alone again.

“What was that about? And what’s in that folder? And why do I have no idea what’s happening with you yet again?”  

“Lance, you were right.” Keith clutched the folder tightly, hoping that Lance took his words to heart.

“Say what now?”

“You were right. It _is_ my fault. All of it.” Keith held out the folder. “This has your answers. Well, most of them. I want you to know…I just…look this isn’t an excuse okay? It’s just an explanation. All of this, you and me and everything that’s happened between us, it’s my fault, okay? I just want you to know that.”

Lance stood and took the folder carefully. “All of this would make a lot more sense if I knew what was in here. But, I got to admit, it feels good to hear you say that. Maybe you’re not a complete asshole.”

There was the smallest hint of teasing in Lance’s voice. Something that Keith missed so desperately. Keith let it distract him while Lance began thumbing through the folder.

“Uh, could you wait for a sec?”

Lance frowned. “Um, why?”

“Just— never mind. I’m going to hang out in the bedroom.”  

“Okay.”

It felt like something pushed Keith through the bedroom door. He quietly shut it, letting his back rest on the door as he sighed. His hands were shaking.

Keith wasn’t sure why it was so hard to tell Lance the truth. Why it felt like he was about to implode at the thought of Lance reading about his past. Maybe it was because he thought so much of the other person? Maybe because, out of everyone in his life, he still wanted to impress Lance. To build himself up in front of the other person and show him what a great guy he was. He wanted Lance to look at him the way he did when they were young. He wanted that simplicity.

_Want, want, want,_ Keith ran his hands through his hair. He tugged on the strands just enough to hurt.

_Could I be anymore selfish?_

* * *

 

At first, Lance didn’t understand.

The information in the folder seemed to be jumbled. There were handwritten notes, blurry photos and transcripts of conversations. After studying it for a while, Lance realized that the handwriting was Matt’s.

Skimming the pages, one word always stuck out. It was highlighted with yellow marker, or underlined multiple times. One word. A name that Lance recognized from the information Pidge had sent him last week.

Slowly, a story began to unfold.

A grainy photo showing a silhouette of a boy running through a mall with a purse clutched in his hands.

Confidential information from the Marmora Organization listed an operative named _Kogane_.

There was a list of thefts from the past seven years, all of them major cases that had never been solved.

A missing child poster with a young Keith in the center. The contact number on the bottom listed someone named _Shirogane_.

Matt’s writing was all over the place. It covered almost every empty space with all sorts of crazy speculations about who Keith was:

_Where did this guy come from?_

_Recruited? From where? Does Marmora recruit?_

_Training is insane. Stole four sculptures with no apparent backup. Those things weighed at least fifty pounds each!_

_This shit is insane._

_Searched name. Only hit was Jack Kogane: deceased. Relation?_

_Holy shit, he’s just a kid._

_Possible lead: Jack Kogane’s son?? Nothing come up, but found an old missing flyer._

_Why was his info erased?_

_What the hell is going on with this guy?_

With each piece of information he read, Lance felt everything click into place. There was so much about Keith he could never understand. Jokes that went over his head, references that were completely lost on him. The boy barely knew how to use his smart phone for crying out loud.

And then there were other things, like how freakishly good he was at his job. Knowledge like that didn’t come from training. It came from experience.

Lance flipped back to the start and checked the date on the missing poster. According to the paper, Keith went missing ten years ago.

Lance felt like he was going to be sick.

The words buzzed around his head, lingering like an annoying bee. Keith said this folder held all the answers, but now Lance was wishing that he hadn’t been so demanding.

“Son of _bitch_ ,” Lance breathed. “I _am_ a dick.”

The last few pages in the files were the possibly the worst. Lance checked the date on top of Matt’s note and audibly gasped. This was from when they were in school together. Back in Arizona.

Matt’s notes read:

_Activity for Kogane down. Maybe there was an issue? Injury? Maybe training? Rumors of Marmora expanding their assassin team. Only active during the weekends and even then it’s not as frequent as it was before. Allura thinks it might be a good thing. It’ll give us some time to stop a few precious artifacts from landing in the black market. Monitor closely. Make sure to tell Allura if his activity picks up again._

Lance knew what was taking up all of Keith’s time.

The next bit of information was a newspaper clipping and behind it, a report that Matt really shouldn’t have. It was an autopsy. The man in the report was the same as the newspaper. He was killed two days after Lance kissed Keith.

There was a note written on the back of the autopsy. It was in Allura’s handwriting this time.

_One kill only. Went back to regular assignments shortly after._

Below it, in a different colored pen was another message.

_He was only seventeen._

“Holy shit.”

Lance spent the better part of an hour meticulously going over every scrap of paper in Keith’s file. He paced while he read, feeling the need to keep moving or else he would go insane.

_This was…so not what I was expecting,_ Lance thought while he chewed on his bottom lip.

Over the years, he’d thought the most horrible things about Keith. After he pulled himself out of his own misery, Lance had redirected those feelings on to Keith. They festered and grew until he absolutely loathed the boy with violet eyes.

Lance hated that he left, that he never told him the truth. He hated that no matter what, he could never escape the fact that he loved Keith. Not for even one second.

And now he had to find out that Keith was keeping secrets for a damn good reason. It was all so much. It was hard for Lance to even comprehend, and yet Keith had lived it. For ten damn years.

And _of course_ the bastard had to go and blame himself for everything that went wrong between them. It was neither of their fault for what happened in the past. Keith had been robbed of his childhood and did the best that he could.

As for their actions now…well Lance was ready to say that he might have taken things too far.

_“I want you to know…I just…look this isn’t an excuse okay? It’s just an explanation. All of this, you and me and everything that’s happened between us, it’s my fault, okay? I just want you to know that.”_

Keith’s words rang in his ears over and over again.

_It’s my fault._

Lance closed the folder and cursed. He hoped that he could still get through to Keith. Maybe he’d be able to help him see that this wasn’t his fault, none of it was.

Lance really hoped that Keith didn’t actually think that way about himself.

After splashing some water on his face in the bathroom, Lance stood in front of the bedroom door. Keith had been alone for a while now. Any normal person would have fallen asleep by now. But Lance knew Keith. He knew that he’d be listening, waiting intently for some kind of sign. Keith was like that sometimes. So focused that nothing could distract him. It was kind of endearing.

Lance knocked on the door. There wasn’t a response, but he didn’t really expect one. Instead, he slowly opened the door.

“Keith? I’m coming in,” he spoke quietly.

The lights were off, only the soft glow of moonlight lit the room. Keith was sitting on the far side of the bed, his back facing Lance. He was looking out the window and practically glowing in the pale moonlight.  

Lance shuffled over to the bed. “Hey, man.”

Keith said nothing. The only sound in the room was the leaves rustling outside the window. The wind had picked up again.

“Um, is it okay if I sit?” he asked. Keith’s shoulders tensed. “I just…I want to talk, if that’s alright with you.”

A few beats passed and then Keith relaxed. Lance took that as his cue to sit.

It was impossible to know where to start. Hours ago, Lance was furious at Keith. He wanted to send him to the opposite end of the earth just so Lance wouldn’t have to see his stupid, beautiful face ever again. Lance wanted Keith to disappear. He wanted the boy out of his life once and for all.

Now, Lance was furious _for_ Keith. There was something bubbling in his chest that he had never experienced before. A simmering rage for faceless people. It was so potent and raw, like molten glass fresh out of a kiln.

Lance’s anger was temporally smothered as he looked at the boy in front of him. He and Keith were the same age, but at that moment he looked so small, sitting at the edge of the bed. He just looked so damn young. It was a weird thing to think, all things considered, but all Lance could see was that little boy on the missing poster.

The lost boy who’d never been found.

“You read it?” Keith asked quietly.

“Yeah.” Lance matched his tone. Looking down at his hands, Lance realized they were still red from when he punched Keith in the face.

“I’m sorry,” Keith mumbled.

“What for?”

Keith shoulders dropped another inch. “For not telling you the truth.”

Lance sighed. “Well, you had a good reason. I…I don’t think I would have believed you back then even if you did tell me. It’s…kind of crazy.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you when we saw each other again.”

“I didn’t give you a chance. I did throw food at you once.” Lance smiled, trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t seem to be working. “I’m sorry too, y’know.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I kind of— well, I was kind of a big jerk. I shouldn’t have assumed all that stuff about you.”

Ever so slightly, Keith’s head turned. “Assumed what?”

Lance grimace. There were a number of not so nice things he’d thought about Keith over the years. “It’s probably better if we don’t get into that right now. I have a very _creative_ way with words sometimes. In multiple languages. ”

Keith snorted. “Yeah, I noticed.”

To anyone else, it might have sounded like Keith was trying to pick a fight. But there was a hidden layer to the way that Keith spoke. He didn’t bother with trying to filter his words or his tone, Keith was the type of person who liked thing to be direct. His tone alone could be easily mistaken for something more hostile.

Lance’s eyes traced Keith’s back with almost tender attention. It was like he was looking at Keith from a whole different angle. Shadows that once covered him were blown away and every little detail was laid bare for Lance to see.

_Is it stupid to think that I still feel the same way?_ Lance wondered. Knowing all Keith’s secrets, seeing them exposed in stark black print, it should have drastically changed his feelings. In fact, for a sane person, it should have erased them completely. But Lance was always a little senseless.

Lance kicked off his shoes and stretched out on the bed.  

“Uh, what are you doing?” Keith’s head spun around, a confused frown on his face.

“Getting comfortable,” Lance answered.

“Why?”

“Why not?”

Keith huffed and turned back to the window. “Shouldn’t you be leaving or something?”

“Do you…want me too?” Lance asked hesitantly. “Cause if you do, I can—”

“N-no. No, it’s fine.”

“O-okay. Cool.”

In the silence that followed, Lance tried to convince himself that he wasn’t still hopelessly gone for this boy and failed miserably.

Keith slowly shifted until he was laying on the edge of the bed. He didn’t turn and face Lance, instead his focus was on the ceiling above them. There was enough space between the two of them to fit Hunk, Pidge and Matt.

“Why are you still here, Lance?” Keith’s voice was almost a whisper. Lance licked his lips, trying to get his thoughts in order.

“I don’t really know. I guess I just…I just want to make sure you’re okay? I mean everything you went through…”

Keith rolled onto his stomach. Lance saw a flash of the bruise he left on Keith’s cheek before he buried his head into the pillow. “It’s not that big of a deal. It’s not like I’m _damaged_ or something.”

Lance couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, I see that now.”

One violet eye blinked up at Lance curiously. It took every ounce of willpower Lance had not to tuck Keith’s hair behind his ear, just so that he could see more of his face.

“So, what now?” Keith asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Do you know anything?” Keith’s tone was laced with amusement. Lance grinned.

“Nah, not really. But I, um...I like to learn. If, y’know, you’re up for that.” Lance felt like his face was on fire. What was he even asking? Lance felt the familiar bubble of word vomit threatening to pour out of his mouth. He always said weird shit like that and always managed to make it weirder by his inability to stop talking.

But somehow, Keith had understood him, even when Lance himself wasn’t sure if he said the right thing.

Keith turned so that he was lying on his side. His violet eyes were a little hesitant, looking up at Lance through the ruffled mess of Keith’s bangs.

“I am. Up for that, or whatever weird metaphor we’re going with.” Keith’s lips pulled up into a little smirk. Lance felt the breath he was holding whoosh out in relief.

“Good to hear.”

 

* * *

 

 

_Bring walls down_  
_Hear all my sound_  
_Let me back in_  
_Love me again_

 

* * *

 

Keith woke up first and for a long while, he didn’t move. His eyes were open wide and unblinking as he stared at the person in front of him. Lance was lying next to him, only a breath away. At some point during the night, they must have fallen asleep. In the same bed. Together.

_Holy shit, I slept with Lanc_ e, Keith blushed furiously. While nothing even remotely sexual happened, somehow calmly sleeping next to Lance felt one hundred times more intimate than even their first kiss.

Keith stared at the face in front of him, momentarily distracted by everything he could see. There were so many little details that Keith had missed dearly, and also a few new things he hadn’t noticed before. Keith let his curiosity take over and studied Lance’s face for the first time in ages.

There was a small scar on Lance’s chin, pale in comparison to the rest of his face. His eyelashes were stupidly full, likely the cause of many jealous arguments between Lance and his sisters. Dotting his cheeks and nose were faint freckles that couldn’t really be seen unless you were close enough. And Keith was close enough.

Very close.

Maybe a little too close?

Moving carefully, Keith shuffled to the edge of the bed and carefully put his feet on the ground. His steps were silent as he made his way to the bedroom door however his heart was pounding loud enough for Keith to hear in his ears.

The bedroom door was still closed from last night, and once out in to the main room of the suite, it looked like nothing had been disturbed. That meant that no one had come to check on them yet. Keith was practically floored with relief. If any one of his co-workers had come in and seen Keith and Lance sharing a bed, Keith would have mortified. Thankfully, they were saved that embarrassment.

Keith ran a hand through his hair and yawned. He flopped down on the nearest chair and wondered if he should try to grab some more sleep. It was still fairly early. Sitting on the table in front of him, Keith noticed the file. His file. Staring at it for a while, Keith’s curiosity eventually won out and grabbed it and flipped it open.

Lance found him like that sometime later. Keith almost didn’t hear him until Lance wobbled on his feet and bumped his shoulder into the bedroom door.

“ _Son of a_ — oh. Morning.”

“Morning.” Keith was too focused reading Matt’s notes to actually look up.

Lance sat next to him, unbuttoning his crumpled dress shirt and slipping it off his shoulders. His white undershirt clung to his broad shoulders. Keith was only mildly distracted.

“Why are you reading that?” Lance asked.

“I never actually looked at it,” Keith confessed. Yeah, he had seen it before, but never looked inside. Seeing his life from a different perspective was…interesting. The missing person’s poster in particular was surprising. “I didn’t know Shiro’s parents tried so hard to find me.”

“Why wouldn’t they? I mean, you and Shiro grew up together, right?”

“Yeah. I guess I just never thought about it. After a while, I kind of figured they had forgotten about me.”

Lance was quiet for a moment. Suddenly, he jumped up. “Okay. That settles it. We’re going to breakfast.”

“Huh?”

“You. Me. Food. Not here though. I don’t feel like cooking.”

Keith closed the folder and stood. “Um, I’d need to change.”

“We can find something in the wardrobe. That place has everything.”

“Uh, Shiro’s probably wondering where I am.”

Lance waved him off. “I bet you twenty bucks that Allura already called him.”

Keith felt like his face was on fire. Was this really happening right now? Was Lance really insisting on going to breakfast?

_Wait a sec, why am I fighting this?_ Keith thought. _Isn’t this what I want to happen? God, I am a dumbass…_

Lance jovially walked over to the door. He went to knock, thinking that it was still locked and barricaded, when he stopped and frowned.

“Huh, that’s weird.” He grabbed the handle and pulled. “The door was open.”

“Wait, really?” Keith strode over. The door swung open easily. In the hall there was no sign of Pidge or Matt. The bookshelf that they used to barricade the door was also missing. Keith frowned in confusion.

The two stepped out, Lance being a little more cautious. His head whipped back and forth like he was expecting Pidge to pop out of nowhere (Keith honestly wouldn’t put it past her).

Just when the coast seemed clear, Keith noticed something taped to the door. A note.

“What’s this?” He plucked it from its spot and held it up for the two of them to read.

It was written in Spanish. The note read:

_‘Tengo una foto. Ustedes dos hacen una linda pareja.’_

Before Keith could attempt to understand the meaning, Lance quickly snatched the note and stuffed it into his pocket.

“Hey, what did it say?” Keith asked.

Lance’s face was red. “Y-you didn’t read it?”

“I tried, but I only took Spanish for half a year, remember? It’s been a while.”

“Oh um, i-it’s not important.” Lance visibly relaxed, which only made Keith more curious. “But you know what is important? Food. Specifically, breakfast food. C’mon! Let’s go find us some decent clothes!”

Lance marched down the hall with a slightly crazed energy. He pulled Keith along with one arm draped around his shoulders. Keith followed without a hint of hesitation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading <3
> 
>  
> 
> [fic playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7NCqaPlsQZbK0VVgTYwxhiz6CMAuw65w)


	8. We Got No Money, But We Got Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fire-crackers in the east my car parked south  
> Your hands on my cheeks your shoulder in my mouth  
> I was up against the wall on the west mezzanine  
> We rattle this town, we rattle this scene  
> O, Anna Sun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from [Anna Sun](https://youtu.be/qDVW81bXo0s) by Walk the Moon.
> 
> As per usual, many thanks to [annalyia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalyia/pseuds/annalyia) for her help and for picking out the chapter title :D
> 
> ONWARD

The wind from the previous night had brought rain clouds to Arus City. Keith watched the rain patter against the sidewalk while he waited under the awning. Lance had insisted on driving, and dropped Keith off in front of the restaurant while he went to find parking. Keith had put their name in with the hostess, and she assured him that it would only be a short wait.

Lance’s car looked like it had survived being pounded by several hurricanes and possibly tossed around by a tornado. The inside was fairly well kept, but there was no denying that this car had seen numerous owners in the last few years. Keith couldn’t help but wonder if it was a hand-me-down from one of Lance’s siblings.

Why he kept it was completely beyond Keith. They made more than enough money working for Allura. Lance probably could have bought four new cars at this very moment without breaking a sweat. Instead he drove around the city in a heap that looked like it was going to break down any second.

Maybe there was something about the faded upholstery and sun damaged hood that encouraged Lance to keep it. There was charm in the half torn princess stickers covering the glove box. An old air freshener hung from the rearview mirror, loaded down with various name tags from different people and different places.

Keith noticed that the names belonged to Lance’s siblings. So yeah, that it explained it.

In the back of his mind, Keith wished he had something like this. Something old and outdated that really should be scrapped for an upgrade, but washed in too many memories to bear giving it up. Keith wished he had something like that from Shiro, or maybe even his parents. Something precious. Something to hold on to. Maybe that’s why he kept that old copy of _Treasure Island_.  Maybe that’s why he kept that photo of his family.

He should really get a frame for that.

It wasn’t too busy this early in the morning, but nearly half of the tables of the bistro were outside on a large patio. There were a few busboys and maybe a manager hurriedly covering the tables and chairs with tarps.

Lance came bounding up a few moments later just as the hostess called their name. Lance shook out his hair before stepping inside and the two made their way to their table. It was huddled up right next to a window, the rain soaked city in full view.

The waiter greeted them, took their drink orders, and left them with some menus. Then, Keith and Lance were alone.

“So on a scale of one to ten, how awkward does this feel right now?” Lance asked bluntly.

Keith bit back a laugh. “A solid seven point two.”

“Cool. I was thinking around a six, six and a half.”

“Good to know it’s not just me.”

“Trust me. It’s definitely not just you.” Lance tapped the table with his fingers in a rhythm that Keith couldn’t quiet follow. They weren’t on the same wavelength yet.

“We’ve got a lot to talk about, huh,” Keith murmured. Lance glanced up from his menu. His sea-blue eyes were too damn enchanting for Keith’s weak heart to bear.

“Yeah. We do.”

“Do you…do you think we could be friends? After all this?”

Lance set down his menu. “I hope so. It might take a little time though. I mean, I thought some terrible things about you for a while.”

“Right…” Keith sank into his seat.

“Hey, it’s not your fault.” Lance nudged Keith’s hand with his own, drawing the boy’s attention. “That’s on me, man. I jumped to conclusions, y’know?”

“Uh—”

“Just chill, Keith. We’ll be fine.”

Keith felt his pulse flutter. Fine used to be a dream. Something unattainable. Now, it was grazing his fingertips. All Keith needed to do was reach out and grab it.

The waiter returned with their drinks and then politely wrote down their food order. He was gone as quickly as he came, and suddenly Lance and Keith were alone again. Sheltered in their own little corner of the world.

“I don’t know where to start.” Lance broke the silence first. He took a long sip from his drink (chocolate milk. Seriously, this man was trying to kill Keith with how adorable he was).

“You were the one who wanted to go out to breakfast,” Keith pointed out. “Shouldn’t you have a plan?”

Lance laughed nervously. “Ha…yeah, that’s true. Guess I kinda was just focused on food.”

More silence. Keith turned to look out the window. He could kind of see his reflection in the glass. His eye was a little bruised from where Lance had hit him, but most of the damage was right on top of his cheekbone. Honestly the blow probably hurt Lance just as much. Bone against bone.

The rain outside pattered against the sidewalk. It wasn’t a heavy rain, but it was consistent. The picturesque type of rain perfect for umbrellas and jumping in puddles. It was the type of rain that created music. Soft, sweet melodies that couldn’t be replicated by humans. It could only be enjoyed when the clouds felt generous. Weighed down with enough to share.

Keith could spend all day watching the rain.

“I never told you why I got in to this life, did I?”

Keith’s gaze drifted over to Lance. Across the table, Lance was watching Keith with an almost fond expression. It felt so foreign and yet so familiar at the same time. Keith felt his head spin.

“No. No you didn’t,” he finally answered.

Lance sat back, sighing. “Well, it’s kind of a crazy story. Not compared to yours, obviously, but still kind of wild.”

Keith nodded eagerly.

“You see, my niece Mimi…she was sick.” In those few words, Lance’s whole demeanor changed. Keith could already see the story, understand it. He knew how much Lance loved his family. Keith knew that Lance would do anything for them. Absolutely anything.  

“With what? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Leukemia. She was eight when she was diagnosed.” 

Keith nodded, his eyes falling to the table between them. Navigating a heartfelt conversation was never one of his strong suites, and Keith was terrified to ask the wrong question. Thankfully, it seemed that Lance was more than ready to share.

“Mimi is my oldest brother’s daughter. Him and his wife were living out in California, but sold their house and moved back home to try and save money for treatment. That and there’s a pretty great children’s hospital back home.” Lance played with his fork as he talked, his movements smooth. “But, of course, it wasn’t enough. We were short on money all the time.  All of us were stressed out about everything. Hell, I didn’t even finish my senior year of high school. I dropped out and got a job just to help out. Mama was furious, but I had to help out somehow. But still, it wasn’t enough. It was never going to _be_ enough.”

The chatter of the bistro had become white noise. A dull hum that Keith could easily ignore. Nothing could tear his attention away from Lance.

“What did you do?” Keith asked.

“Well, I kinda made some bad choices,” Lance said sheepishly.

“I doubt that.”

“I went to my cousin’s ex-boyfriend who had ties with a gang.”

“…okay that’s not a _great_ choice,” Keith relented. “But it was for a damn good reason.”

Lance chuckled. “Yeah, you got that right.”

“So…what did you do for them?”

“Nothing too dramatic. I was only eighteen and pretty jumpy about the whole situation. Those guys weren’t saints by any means, but the respected the lengths I was willing to go for my family. Family and brotherhood is a pretty big deal in that world.”

Keith could understand that, in a sense. In Marmora, it wasn’t something as honorable as brotherhood that tied them together. However, the bonds were still tight enough to hold.

“I did errands for them at first. They’d pay me to head to a random street corner or some dingy warehouse to pick things up and drop them off where ever. I never asked what anything was and really didn’t want to know. Then they’d bring me along during heists. I didn’t do much at first; I was basically a lookout most of the time or I would create a distraction. Then one of the guys suggested that I was trustworthy enough to actually take part in their jobs, and it was all downhill from there.”

“Downhill? What do you mean by that?”

Lance shrugged. “That’s when I really felt like a criminal. I mean, I was able to justify it all in my head before. I wasn’t _really_ breaking the law by driving this stuff around, or I wasn’t _actually_ a bad guy by flirting with a girl on the street while one of the guys stole her wallet. I could still pretend that I was a good person. After that, I couldn’t lie anymore.”

Keith’s fingers twitched on the table. He wanted to reach out to Lance, to touch him, to tell him that he was the kindest and most wonderful person in the whole goddamn world. Keith wanted to tell Lance that he was _good_. Too good to have to go through such shit.

Keith’s hand stayed where it was.

“What happened next?” he asked.

“Over the next year or so, I just did everything. Bank jobs, jewelry stores, even a Walmart once. I just showed up wherever they told me to go. Not house jobs though. There was no way I was breaking into someone’s home. Then one day, shit hit the fan.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” Lance groaned. He took a long drink out of his chocolate milk, tossing it back like it was a hard alcohol instead of a sweet drink. “The police busted one of the gang members and the guy sang like a fucking canary. In a single afternoon, over half of the guys were picked up by cops.”

“Holy shit,” Keith gasped. “What did you do?”

“I ran, dude. Not much else to do.” He shrugged. “I had no idea if the cops had my name or knew where I lived or anything, and I wasn’t going to stick around to find out. I knew that Hunk and his mom had moved to Arus so I kind of just packed up and left.”

“What about Mimi, and your siblings…what about your parents?”

Lance rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, they kinda knew what I was doing? Maybe? I feel like Marco probably knew where the money was coming from, but he didn’t saying anything. Vero definitely figured it out and hot damn, she was angry.”

“I meant what did you tell your family when you just up and left,” Keith clarified.

“Oh. Well I just told them I was going to see Hunk. And no one really questioned it. I mean, I’ve done stuff like that before. Plus I’d been talking about visiting Hunk for ages so it wasn’t too much of a stretch.”

The waiter came by, balancing a large try on his shoulder. The table was practically bursting when all their food was laid out. Plates of pancakes and toast rattled against one another, and the small side of fruit Keith ordered looking like the only really healthy thing on the table. Other than that it was just carbs, meat, and more carbs.

“Let me know if you need anything.” The waiter smiled. “Enjoy!”

Keith began sifting through the little jam packets to find a few strawberry-flavored ones while Lance drenched his pancakes in syrup. There was a pause in the conversation as the two ate their breakfast. Once Lance had made it halfway through his stack of pancakes, he cleared his throat and began again.

“After making it to Arus, things got a little bad,” he confessed.

“How?” Keith asked.

“Well, Hunk and his mom were happy to have me, but well, I had no way of getting a job. I mean, I didn’t finish high school, the only real job I had was as a cashier at Burger King, and I was possibly a fugitive. That last bit didn’t actually turn out to be true, but I didn’t know that until later. I was paranoid as all hell. I swear I would jump every time I heard a police siren, and in a big city like this, I was practically a bunny.”

Keith nearly snorted his orange juice out of his nose. “Th-that was the dumbest joke I’ve ever heard.”

“But you still laughed, so it worked.” Lance smirked. Keith rolled his eyes, hoping that by looking down, Lance wouldn’t notice his blush.

“Get on with the story, McClain.”

“Yeah, yeah. Okay so, I got a job at Starbucks, still felt really guilty about basically mooching off of Hunk and his mom, and also I was freaking out about my family back home, so I did the most illogical thing I could think of.”

“Don’t you mean ‘logical’?” Keith asked.

“There’s nothing logical about a kid like me becoming a pickpocket.”

Keith could argue that point a hundred different ways. Then again, his sense of right and wrong was kind of skewed. For Keith, all that mattered for a long time was survival and working towards his freedom. Along the way, some of his morals just shriveled up and vanished. Lance was different, in the best possible sense.

“Okay,” Keith relented. “You went back to pickpocketing.”

“Yup, and wouldn’t you know it, I accidentally stole Allura’s wallet.”

For the second time that morning, orange juice nearly came out of Keith’s nose. “W-what the _fuck_.”

“I know, right?”

“You…you actually stole Allura’s wallet?”

“Yep. Right out of her purse. She didn’t even notice till she got home.”

Keith stared at the table, incredibly impressed. “But…it’s _Allura_. Nothing gets past her. She’s like—she’s like a god or something.”

“ _Goddess,_ ” Lance corrected. “And yet I was the guy that managed to impress her.”

The dopey grin on Lance’s face made Keith internally groan. He didn’t think there was anything going on with Lance and Allura, but it was hard to ignore just how beautiful she was. Lance practically had hearts in his eyes when he talked about her.

 _Does Lance…does he have a crush on her?_ Keith thought. As soon as the words entered his mind, Keith felt his stomach drop. He didn’t realize his hopes had risen so high until they came crashing down in one fell swoop. _It’s fine. It’s not like everything was fixed overnight. It’s fine if he likes someone else. It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine._

Keith tuned back into the conversation, stowing his thoughts away for another time.

“Is that how you began working for Allura? She found you after you stole her wallet?” he asked.

Lance nodded. “Yep. Everything’s pretty simple after that. Allura helped me finish my GED and gave me a stable job. She helped my family with medical bills and even had her uncle cover up all my ties to the gang. He’s an FBI agent, but that’s just his cover. Coran still works with the alliance and a few other groups around the world.”

Keith sat back in his chair, absentmindedly pushing the eggs around his plate with the tip of his fork. Lance’s story, while not as dramatic as Keith, was still filled with ups and downs and moments of peace followed quickly by fear.

The things that he risked, the world that he threw himself into, Keith couldn’t help be in awe of Lance. He really did everything he could think of to take care of his family, to make sure they had what they needed. Lance may not see his actions as admirable, but to Keith, he was incredible.

“…what are you smiling about?” Lance asked, his voice unusually soft.

 _You. I’m smiling because I’m thinking about you._ “It’s nothing,” Keith lied as he continued to eat his breakfast.

* * *

 

The inside of Lance’s car was comfortably warm. They drove in relative silence, a few stray raindrops splattering against the windshield.

It was still a little awkward for Keith to be so close to Lance. So close without fighting or scowling at one another. It was almost like they were suddenly friends. The change was way too abrupt for either of them to fully embrace. But God, it was so much better than before.

Keith gave Lance directions to his apartment and watched the city pass by from his window. He wasn’t sure if he should talk more or just let the silence continue. They were pulling up on his street before Keith could make a decision.

Lance parked next to the curb. “Well, here we are.”

“Yeah.”

“So uh, do you…do you think Allura’s still mad at us?”

Keith snorted. “Really? That’s what you’re thinking about right now?”

“No not really, but it’s a safe topic right now, and I am honestly kinda curious.”

“Good point,” Keith relented. “She might still be a little mad, but I don’t think she’ll hold it against us forever.”

Lance leaned back in his seat with a sigh. “Good. I can’t handle her being angry at me. I swear she could kill a man with a look.”

Keith couldn’t help but agree. “Well…thanks for the ride—”

“Keith, wait.” Lance grabbed Keith’s sleeve, almost instantly letting go. “I uh…give me your phone.”

“What?”

“Don’t look so worried, dude. I want to give you my number.” 

Keith blinked slowly before fumbling to get his phone out of his pocket. He handed it over to Lance, hoping that he didn’t see the slight tremor of excitement in his hands. Lance typed in his number quickly and passed the phone back with a smile.

The pair said their goodbyes and Keith couldn’t seem to stop smiling. As soon as got inside his building, Keith unlocked his phone and stared down at the new contact.

A few days later, Keith got a text. But it wasn’t from the person he was hoping for.

 **Allura:** _Please report to HQ at 5pm tonight._

Keith frowned, his spoon from his cereal hanging out of his mouth. It had been pretty much radio silence from Allura since the night of the dinner. Keith and Lance’s fight must have ended the party early and Keith couldn’t imagine what kind of damage control she had to do.

She was probably going to yell at him again. Well, maybe not yell, but Keith had a feeling he was about to get a stern lecture.

“What’s got you in sour mood? It’s not even eight yet.” Shiro passed by Keith at the table, heading for the kitchen. He grabbed the box of pop tarts and placed two in the toaster.

“You eat like you’re five,” Keith mumbled.

“Say that again when you’re not currently on your second bowl of Coco Puffs.”

Keith shoved another spoonful in his mouth.

Shiro poured himself a glass of milk and grabbed his breakfast on his way back to the table. He nudged Keith’s foot under the table. “So, what’s up?

“Nothing. Just got a text from Allura. I’m going to miss dinner.”

“That’s fine. What did she want?”

“Not sure yet. But I feel like I’m about to get a lecture.”

Shiro’s eyes narrowed. “Does this have to do with the black eye you came home with the other day?”

“Yeah.” Keith sighed. The black eye in question had already begun to fade. Lance didn’t actually hit him that hard. “Allura kind of already chewed us out, but she probably has more to say. I don’t really blame her to be honest.”

Shiro either didn’t hear or didn’t bother hearing the rest of Keith’s sentence as he was too focused on one detail. “ _Us_? Who’s us?”

Keith flushed. He wished he had more cereal to shove in his mouth, but his bowl was already empty. “Us as in me and, uh…Lance.”

“Lance.”

“Yes.”

“ _The_ Lance?”

“He doesn’t need a title.” Keith rolled his eyes.

“Why did Allura yell at both of you? Wait a minute, is he the one who punched you?”

“Technically yes, but I also punched him in the stomach.”

“ _Keith_.”

“Don’t worry about it, Shiro. We already made up or whatever.”

At that, Shiro perked up. “Oh really?”

“Really.”

“So…am I going to meet him?”

Now it was Keith’s turn to groan. “ _Takashi_.”

“Fine, fine, I won’t torment you anymore.” Shiro downed the rest of his milk and rinsed his glass. He ruffled Keith’s hair on his way to the door, slipping on his shoes. “Text me when you get back home. I’ll be at work late again.”

“Don’t they have other nurses at that hospital?” Keith asked. Shiro really did work more than average.

His brother scowled, and odd look that Keith had never seen on his face. “We would have other nurses if the hospital didn’t spend all their money doting on the surgical staff. I swear, they think they can walk all over us—”

“Shiro. Stop. You’ve been watching too much _Grey’s Anatomy_.”

“Maybe the nurses should go on strike? It worked on the show.”

“Oh my god, just leave. You’re going to be late.”

Shiro chuckled as Keith shoved him and his bike out the door. Now left alone in the apartment, Keith had time to kill until he made his way to Allura’s. A whole day to waste.

He didn’t know where to start.

An hour after settling in a comfortable chair to read, Keith got another text.

 **Lance:** _Okay, so did you also get a vaguely intimidating message from Allura this morning???_

 **Lance:** _Pidge didn’t. Matt didn’t and I’m kinda fecking out_

 **Lance:** _*Freaking_

At first, Keith hesitated. Was this supposed to happen? Were the two of them just supposed to fall back into their friendship after so much anger and confusion? This emotional minefield would have been hard for anyone to navigate, but Keith felt like he was basically a brick wall when it came to dealing with people. Anything other than happy or pissed, Keith didn’t know what to do.

He knew how to fight back. He knew how to roll with the punches. But repairing something? Carefully putting everything back together when it had shattered into pieces? That was something Keith never thought he would have to do.

 _But it would be worth it,_ a small voice in the back of his head chimed in. _It would be so worth it._

Keith ran a hand over his face, feeling the warmth of his cheeks. With quick fingers, Keith tied his hair up in a high ponytail to try and wrangle his bangs. He needed to concentrate.

* * *

 

“I triple texted him. I can’t believe my first time texting Keith and I _triple texted_ him.” Lance flung himself on the other side of the couch, an arm over his eyes. “And one of them was correcting a typo! Pidge, kill me now.” 

“Okay.” Pidge kicked Lance’s side, making the boy squawk.

“Ow! What the hell?”

“Calm down already, this isn’t the end of the world.” She glared over the rim of her glasses, unamused.

“It’s the end of _my_ world. I can’t believe how insensitive you are, Pidgey.”

The girl rolled her eyes. “I’m not insensitive, I’m just wondering how you can go from completely loathing the guy a few days ago to getting all…getting all—“

“Twitterpated!” Hunk called out from his room down the hall.

“What Hunk said!”

Lance got comfortable on the couch, tucking a leg under him. Yeah, it was weird. His feelings toward Keith suddenly did a 180, and Lance was still experiencing some whiplash.

It was…nice, not being weight down with all that negativity. It also felt good to get answers for all the questions that had been plaguing him since he was a teen. Although, the answers to those questions…well, that was going to take some time to adjust too.

Lance would be lying if he said he wasn’t shocked by everything that came out that night. But his opinion of Keith hadn’t changed. He was thrown into a shitty situation and made the best of it. He was taken as a child, fought, and _survived_. Lance couldn’t be anything but amazed at the person Keith was now. Still a little awkward, still beautiful, and still so kind. 

It was like he was falling in love all over again.

Sometime during his little introspective moment, Pidge crawled over to Lance’s side of the couch.

“You are totally smitten…and I don’t even like that word but that’s totally what you are.” She stared at him with big eyes, like she had discovered something interesting. “What exactly happened between you two?”

Lance pushed her away with a finger on her forehead. “N-nothing really. We just…talked.”

“Talked,” she deadpanned. “Like I told you to do right before you punched him in the face.”

“Yes.”

“What did you talk about? Must have been a good conversation to end up cuddling.” Pidge had a familiar glint in her eye, one Lance had seen many times. She was the one who found them that morning. She was the one who left the note. And according to the note, Pidge was in possession of a photo that Lance would very much like to find and destroy.

 _Okay, maybe I don’t want to destroy it, but it’d like to see it…maybe have my own copy or whatever…_ Lance sank into his seat.

“We talked about stuff, Pidge,” Lance finally answered. “Stuff that— just _stuff_.”

Pidge’s eyes narrowed, her curious nature taking over. However curious she was, Pidge knew when to stop prying into places she shouldn’t.

“Okay, well, whatever that stuff was, it must have been pretty good to knock you out of your mood.” She elbowed him in the arm.

Lance nodded. “It was something. Mainly, it just helped me get out of my own damn head and see things from a different POV.”

“Did you really just use the abbreviation for ‘point of view’ in a sentence?”

“Quiet Pidge, I’m being mature.”

Pidge snorted. “Okay, Lance. Whatever you say.”

“Now, back to my problem…”

“Um, I don’t think it’s a problem when he texts you back.” Pidge held up Lance’s phone. There on the screen was a single message from Keith.

 **Keith K** : _Yeah I got it and I’m trying not to freak out._

“…and that’s two dopey smiles in less than an hour,” Pidge said dryly. “Hunk, it’s happening again! He’s twitter-whatever.”

“Twitterpated.” Hunk strolled into the living room and plopped down into the armchair. “Oh man, you’re right. He’s got it bad.”

“Think he’s even listening to us right now?” Pidge asked, a interested tilt to her head.

“Probably not. He’s in a whole different world right now.”

Pidge waved her hand in front of Lance, but he was too busy looking at his phone with a silly smile on his face.

* * *

 

It was a quarter till five, and Keith was still standing outside of Allura’s door. She had to know he was there. There were three cameras focused on the front door and one of those fancy motion sensors on the steps. Allura probably knew he had arrived the second he passed the wrought iron gates onto the grounds.

Hell, she probably knew what he had for breakfast that morning. She was just that kind of person.

“You been here long?”

Keith turned to see Lance, twirling his key ring on his finger. Keith didn’t even hear his car.

“Not too long,” he lied unconvincingly.

“Pft, yeah right. You’re totally afraid to go in,” Lance teased.

“And you’re not?”

“…touché.”

The pair stared at the door. Neither of them moved to open it or even knock. Just as Lance was suggesting flipping a coin, the door burst open. Lance actually yelped.

“Honestly, it was driving me mad just seeing you two standing out here.” Allura seemed completely oblivious to the heart attacks she caused. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and spun around. “Come on already, I don’t have all night.”

Keith glances at Lance, confusion plastered clearly over his face. Lance shrugged, trying for nonchalance but falling short.

With a deep breath, Keith took a step.

Allura was waiting for them in the main sitting room, a tea cup already in her delicate hand. Her sky colored eyes flicked up as the two boys walked in. Keith couldn’t help but think she looked like a lion, tracking her prey.

Or maybe he was being dramatic and overthinking things as always.

Keith crossed his arms as he sat, practically wedging himself into the corner. Lance aimed to look more relaxed and sat down smoothly.

“So, uh…” Lance mumbled, his fingers tapping against his knee. “How about that weather?”

Keith was glad his arms were crossed, otherwise he would have face palmed.

Allura’s lips twitched like she was hiding a smile. “The weather? Really Lance, that was the first thing you could think of?” she teased.

“I don’t know! This is a delicate situation and I panicked.”

Keith snorted. “Clearly.”

“Shut it, pretty boy.”

Keith felt his cheeks flush.

Allura smiled, placing her tea cup back in its saucer. “Well, I can see you two are getting along much better. This will make your next assignment much easier.”

Both Keith and Lance stared at Allura, confusion clearly on their faces.

“Say what now?” Lance asked.

“Well, in a surprising turn of events, your little argument the other night actually managed to secure a rather profitable job for the Alliance.”

Keith frowned. “How exactly did we do that?”

“As it turns out,” Allura stood, reaching behind her chair to pull out a briefcase, “One guest in particular determined from your little scuffle that the two of you were perfect for the job he had in mind. Why exactly, I’m not too sure, but after I returned the party, he pulled me aside and requested a meeting.”

Allura popped open the briefcase and laid out several glossy photos on the coffee table. “Our client’s name is Kai Andersen and his family. Our target is this.”

In the center of the table was a photocopy of a deed. It was worn and tattered looking, possibly decades old. Keith scanned it, noting that the land in question was owned by the Andersen family for a period of fifty years. Doing the math in his head, Keith guessed that the deadline was coming up soon. That meant that the family either had to move or reclaim ownership.

“Three weeks ago, this document was stolen from Mr. Andersen’s home. It was locked in a vault and the house itself was protected by an advanced security system.” Allura explained.

“So what, we need to find out who took it?” Lance asked.

“Mr. Andersen already knows.” Allura laid four new photos on the table. “These four women, better known as the Generals, were under contract by Mr. Andersen’s business rival to acquire the deed in time for the deadline. If Mr. Andersen cannot provide proof that his family owns that land, it will be put up for auction.”

Keith frowned. “But how is that possible? I mean, the city would have records too. They would probably have a copy of the deed from when it was originally made.”

“Normally yes, but it apparently there was a flood in the building where documents like that were stored. We probably have these ladies to thank for that.”

Keith looked back at the four women in question. They didn’t look like the type to blend into a crowd. Hell, one of them had fuchsia colored hair that practically went down to her knees. But Keith knew first hand that looks could be deceiving.

“Mr. Andersen is prepared to pay a handsome amount for the document’s return, and he also might have mentioned that his rival, Duncan, has a number of valuable possessions on his property.” Allura had that mischievous glint in her eye. Keith couldn’t help but smirk.

“Sounds like fun.” He leaned back, his voice full of confidence.

Lance matched Keith’s bravado. “You can count on us, Princess. Consider that deed as good as ours.”

“Excellent, that just what I wanted to hear.” Allura swept all the photos back into the briefcase and snapped it shut. She passed the case to Keith and pulled out her phone. “Now, your travel arrangements have already been made. Pidge and Matt both will be accompanying you. They are fully debriefed on the situation and will fill you in on all the details I may have left out.”

“Travel arrangements?” Lance asked. “Where are we going?”

“France.”

Lance practically leaped off the couch. He cheered, pumping his fist in the air like he was at a sports match and his team just won. Keith rolled his eyes for show, but inside he was bubbling with excitement.

It wasn’t the first time Keith had ever been to France, and it probably wasn’t going to be his last. But this was the first time he was going somewhere with his team. His friends. With _Lance_.

Keith took a moment to glance at Lance. His mouth was running a mile a minute, practically talking Allura’s ear off. The kind young woman nodded along, smiling at Lance’s overwhelming excitement. From the bits of conversation he picked up, Lance had never been to Europe.

For Keith, he felt his breath hitch in his throat. There was nothing more stunning, more remarkable, then seeing Lance smile like that. And when he turned that that beaming smile was focused on him, Keith could have sworn his heart stuttered in his chest.

“France! Dude, this is so cool!” Lance playfully punched Keith in the shoulder.

“Calm down already, we’re not going to be there for vacation.”

Lance didn’t seem to hear him. “Ugh I can’t wait to OD on food. Hunk is going to be _so_ jealous. I can already picture it; me, sitting in front of the Eiffel Tower, a bottle of wine, and a bag full of bread. Maybe I can get one of the cool hats, too.”

“And where would I be in this scenario?” Keith asked.

Lance looked at Keith with a certain softness he wasn’t expecting. “I don’t know yet. But I don’t think you’d be too far.”

Keith felt his cheeks warm.

“Focus, gentleman,” Allura chided. “While your little day dream does sound nice, you have a job to do first. Perhaps, you can if you have a little time to yourselves after you’ve completed your task. Now, your flight is in two days. I’ll email you your boarding passes.”

Allura was right back into work mode.

On the other hand, Lance was still bouncing on his feet. And Keith?

Keith had never been more excited for a job in his life.

 

 

_We're gonna rattle this ghost town_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading <3 <3
> 
>  
> 
> [fic playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7NCqaPlsQZbK0VVgTYwxhiz6CMAuw65w)


	9. Complex Calculations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People say  
> Don’t let your emotions control you  
> Well how can that be  
> Without them, I never could know you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me, looking at the date when i last updated: ........oh fuck. 
> 
>  
> 
> Song [Every Single Night](https://youtu.be/mSvYtQ1Do1Q) by Computer Games.  
> Many, many thanks to [annalyia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalyia/pseuds/annalyia) for deciphering my word vomit :D

Ten minutes in the air on their flight to France, and Keith wanted to take back every nice thing he ever thought about Lance.

The boy would not. Stop. _Talking_.

Keith knew Lance was a chatterbox, it was actually kind of an endearing quality most of the time. Lance would talk and talk, rambling about anything and everything. Every once in a while, a topic would come up and there would be a change to Lance’s voice, a subtle difference that would light up his sea blue eyes. It was cute when Lance would ramble like that. Sweet, when he spoke so passionately about certain things.

This was not one of those times.

“…but seriously, what if one day I’m strolling around central Florida and bam! The ground is just gone and poor little old me gets sucked into a sinkhole. Just— _whoosh_! Gone! Forever! Archeologists hundreds of years from now would find my beautiful body in the remains of a Florida swamp!”

Pidge, who seemed to have an incredible tolerance for Lance’s chatter, pushed up her thick glasses. “First off, it won’t be your body they dig up, but your skeleton—“

“I’d still be _bone-_ afide beauty.”

“— _Second_ , your chances of actually falling into a sinkhole are very, _very_ slim. And third, ‘remains of Florida’? What’s going to happen to Florida in the next hundred years?”

“Zombie apocalypse, duh.”

“Of course. How could I forget,” she deadpanned.

Lance ruffled Pidge’s hair. “Don’t act all cool, Pidgey. We’ve been planning for the zombie apocalypse for years. You have multiple plans on your laptop.”

Pidge’s cheeks appeared a little pinker then normal. “Shut up, Lance.”

Matt laughed at his sister, loud enough to get a few annoyed glances from the other passengers.

The four of them were situated in the middle of the plane. Keith hated sitting anywhere but the window, and being stuck between Lance and Matt was making him twitchy. It’s not like he was afraid of planes or of flying in general. In fact, he actually liked it a lot, but he felt more comfortable staring at the open sky than facing the fact he was crammed in a metal tub with a hundred strangers.

At least when he sat at the window he could let his mind wander. With the current situation, he was stuck listening to Lance and Pidge make a zombie contingency plan in the event there was a break out while they were flying over the Atlantic.

Begrudgingly, Keith had to admit they were very thorough plans.  

Somewhere between hours two and three, Pidge and Matt had a debate. The two siblings were sitting on the outside edges of the rows so they were both basically leaning on Keith and Lance to talk. Keith had it lucky. Matt seemed to know well enough not to intrude on Keith’s personal space too much. Whereas Pidge had no qualms with practically laying across Lance’s lap, her pointy elbows digging into his thighs.

“O-kay, that’s it. We’re switching,” Lance declared. “Honestly, I don’t know why you two didn’t sit together to begin with.”

“You were the one who sat in the middle right away,” Pidge commented.

Matt nodded. “Yeah, and Keith wanted to sit next to you so—”

“I will _end_ you, Matthew.” Keith was gripping the arm rest so hard he swore it cracked. By some stroke of fate, Lance didn’t seem to hear Matt’s comment. Pidge, however, was looking at Keith with a wide, mischievous smile.

After they rearranged the seating order (and after two different flight attendants asked them politely to keep their voices down), the four settled down for the rest of their flight.

“Hey, wanna watch a movie?” Lance had taken the aisle seat so that he could stretch his legs out every so often. The boy got restless quickly. If he had stayed in the middle it would have been a nightmare.

“Sure. It’s either that or take a nap.”

“Didn’t you bring anything with you to keep you entertained?”

“I have a few books…”

“Books? What are you, a ninety-year-old man?”

“What are you, illiterate? Books are perfectly fine, Lance.”

Lance huffed. “That’s exactly what a crotchety old man would say…”

“I will throw your headphones down the toilet.”

“I surrender.”

Lance pulled out a tablet, swiping through a list of movies before selecting one. Pidge wordlessly handed over a splitter cable so Keith and Lance could both watch the movie without sharing headphones.

Keith swore she had a sixth sense about random things like this. Or maybe she was just much more observant then he realized.

The movie began and Keith couldn’t help but get a sense of déjà vu. That awful early nineties music, the long shots of New York on grainy film, and finally the pizza guy delivering pizza to a voice in the sewer.

Keith leaned over and quietly asked, “Is this what I think it is?”

Lance grinned, his cheeks looking a little pink. “I downloaded all three of them. I thought that, well I thought it’d be fun? To watch them? I have other stuff to if you don’t like this—”

“No this is, it’s good.” Keith sat up, adjusting his headphones. From the corner of his eye, he could see Lance’s sigh of relief before he went back to watching the movie.

 _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ was just as cheesy as Keith remembered.

 

* * *

 

 

It was night when they landed, and the city looked simply magical. Keith had been to Paris before, multiple times in fact, but there was something different now. Something electrifying in the air. Keith looked at the city streets with a fresh eye, seeing both the beauty of a different country and the mundanity of a typical city. It was…nice. It was nice being able to enjoy it for a little while.

The four of them were greeted by Allura’s cousin at the airport. Romelle was just as striking as her cousin, although in a different way. Whereas Allura moved with the grace and regality of a princess, Romelle had the charm of farm girl, or something along that line. Keith internally sighed at the examples his mind created. He really had been reading too much Jane Austen recently. Every thought that passed through his head turned into some regency poetry. It was weird.

Romelle took them a hotel her father owned, and the four of them settled into two large suites.

In the time it took Keith and Lance to choose rooms in their own suite, Pidge and Matt had what looked like an entire IT department unloaded in theirs.

“Holy…”

“What the _fuck_.” Lance’s jaw was practically on the floor.

Matt grinned from behind a large computer screen. “Impressed? Dude, you should see Pidge’s room back home. This is nothing.”

“How did you even pack all this?” Lance asked.

“We didn’t. Romelle hooked us up.”

The young woman smiled brightly. She was sitting on a plush couch, leafing through a magazine. “I hope everything’s up to par. It’s been a while since I’ve dealt with electronics.”

“Everything looks good from my end,” Matt informed her with a nod. Keith was pretty sure he heard Pidge say something too, but he couldn’t figure out where she was in the massive, tech-filled suite.

Romelle hopped up from her spot. “Well then, I’ll leave you to it. If you need anything else, just let me know.”  She paused before continuing, “Oh, but if it’s large or insanely expensive, I’ll need at least twenty-four hours.”

Keith glanced at Lance, confused. Lance didn’t seem to know what she was talking about either and simply shrugged.

Romelle waved as she walked out door, and almost immediately Keith turned to Matt.

“So what was that about?” he asked.

Matt didn’t stop typing as he spoke. “What, Romelle? Didn’t Allura tell you?”

Lance answered this time. “Uh, no? Unless she did and I wasn’t paying attention which, let’s be real, is entirely possible.”  

“Sometimes, I don’t understand how you get by in life,” Keith sighed.

“You and me both, sunshine. My sister says it’s dumb luck.”

Pidge appeared seemingly out of nowhere with a groan. She fell face first on the couch and Keith couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Romelle can get her hands on anything,” Matt finally answered. “Don’t know how, but she had got some crazy connections. Allura told me that when they were kids, Romelle was able to get the seventh Harry Potter book three months before it went on sale. When they were _kids_! I have no idea what superpower she has, but Romelle is amazing.”

Keith nodded, his mind already working ahead. He brought pretty much everything he thought he would need on a job like this. But, with Romelle in the picture, that meant he might be able to change some of his tactics. It would definitely make things easier.

“Well, I’m going to turn in. Can’t get much work done tonight.” Keith turned, heading for the door. Lance followed with a quick goodbye over his shoulder to the Holt siblings.

“Recon tomorrow guys, you know what that means.” Matt grinned.

Lance groaned. “It means my beauty sleep is going to be ruined.”

“Not like it works, anyway,” Pidge mumbled.

“Rude!”

The first week in Paris was nothing but recon. Pidge and Matt swept over the city with a fine-toothed comb and managed to find the so called Generals in a matter of hours.

This wasn’t to say the four women weren’t good at their jobs. In fact, it was like they wanted to be seen. Whether it was to flaunt their status in the city to other criminals, or maybe as a sign to say they knew the Alliance was there, Keith wasn’t sure which was right.

Since there were four Generals, each one of them spread out to gather intel on their competition. Pidge was huddled up in an international café where the all the barista’s spoke at least three different languages. Matt was making good use of his Metro pass as he tailed one of the Generals as they ran errands. Lance was dressed to the nines as a typical tourist getting ‘lost’ all day as he tracked down a General.

As for Keith, he got a relatively easy assignment. The General he was tasked with shadowing seemed pretty low-key compared to the others.  The woman went by the name of Acxa, which Keith could only assume was a fake name. She lived in Montmartre, a large hill in the northern part of the city and a popular tourist attraction because of the basilica and the rich bohemian artistry that used to reside there. Used to, being the key phrase. Now, it was too expensive for the humble artists that gave the place its vibrancy and flooded with tourists who traveled the same path day in and day out.

But, away from the stampede of foreigners, it was a unique and beautiful place to live. Acxa seemed to think so.

Keith sat on the ground, his back up against a railing. His knees were practically up to his chest and he had a sketch book balanced on his knees. This was still an artist’s city and there was nothing out of the ordinary with a person randomly sketching in the middle of the sidewalk. In fact, there was another young man just a few feet away trying to interest a couple in a portrait.

Keith pretended to know what he was doing. His pencil lightly gliding across the paper as he tried to get the iron grate of the window just right. His drawing of the building he was opposite to started looking pretty good, actually. Even better when Acxa stepped out the front door.

She was younger than Keith expected. Dark hair and angular eyes that seemed to question everything around her. She didn’t linger on Keith any longer than anyone else on the street.

Slung over her shoulder was a large cloth bag that flowed in the breeze. Empty.

 _Maybe she’s going grocery shopping?_ Keith wondered. He grabbed his eraser and tried to fix his crooked line.

Acxa stepped off the curb and began heading toward the main road. The closest grocery was only about eight minutes away. Plenty of time to sneak into her place and do a quick search.

Keith was supposed to follow her. Gather as much info as he could so that they knew just who they were up against. They may be under contract by some rich asshole, but these ladies were the real competition. They were the ones who stole those documents and they were the ones that the Alliance would have to outsmart.

The moment Acxa turned down the next street, Keith was on his feet. He hurried to the alley, checking for any sort of security before scaling the side. One thing he appreciated about French architecture was the iron rails on nearly all the windows. It made it very easy to climb.

Keith was able to enter the building with no problems, entering through an open window in the stairwell. Matt had done a fantastic job gathering information last night, so Keith already knew which apartment belonged to his target.

Breaking into the home of a thief was a tricky thing. Nothing, absolutely _nothing_ could be misplaced. Keith could nudge a magnet on the fridge just a centimeter too much, and they would know. Thieves knew what they owned. They knew exactly where everything was. Keith had to tread like he was walking on a tightrope made of eggshells: carefully and precisely.

Acxa’s home didn’t have a complicated security system, and from the look of things, Keith figured it was more of a temporary dwelling. The small apartment was pristine and yet barley full. Only the basic essentials were present. No TV, only a handful of books on the shelves, and nothing that really said ‘home’. Acxa was only using this place as a holdover until she and her team moved on to the next job. Anything personal that would help them in their mission was probably either in a safe or a suitcase.

Keith tiptoed to the bedroom, moving quickly as he could. The door was already open and Keith made sure to slip in without moving it at all. There was a dress laid out on the bed, freshly dry cleaned judging by the tag on the hanger. It was a formal outfit, something fitting for a black tie event. Keith noted other accessories in the room too.

A beaded clutch, brand name heels, and a few pieces of glittering jewelry on the dresser. Acxa must have been pretty comfortable in this particular area to leave her valuables out like that. Or, she was trying to entice someone like Keith. That may have just been his paranoia thinking, though.  

Even though Keith had been in the apartment for about two minutes, he still didn’t know much. There wasn’t anything personal in the apartment, except for the clothes. Taking a few more second to look around the bedroom, Keith decided to leave.

Maybe he did make the wrong choice. Maybe he could have found out more tailing Acxa than he did in the apartment. Keith felt irritated as he locked the apartment door behind him. His instincts were usually pretty good, but from the look of things, he may have messed up this time.

 _Oh well,_ Keith sighed internally. _We still have a whole day of recon tomorrow._  

Keith carefully climbed back down the side of the building. He took a little walk around the back, looping around several buildings before making it back to the spot he was in earlier. Keith settled back down of the sidewalk and pulled out the sketchbook yet again.

It took another fifteen minutes for Acxa to return, and Keith felt annoyed that it took so long. He could have snooped around her place longer if he’d known she was going to take her time.

Acxa’s bag was filled with fresh food. A large leafy plant was sticking out of the top. As she walked down the street, her sharp eyes did another sweep of her surroundings. Keith watched from behind his bangs while his head was tilted down toward his drawing.

On her second pass, Acxa’s gaze lingered on Keith. She looked interested if anything. Like he was an eye-catching title on a bookshelf. Keith sat up straighter, pretending to stretch his back like he’d been sitting for a long period of time. She didn’t look away.

It wasn’t until Acxa was walking inside her apartment building that Keith let out his breath.

 _That was too weird to be a coincidence,_ Keith decided. Acxa must have known why Keith was there. Hopefully her attention would stay on Keith himself, but he had a feeling his other teammates were already on the General’s radar.

Keith lingered outside in his spot for another hour. Any longer and people might actually get suspicious. His multiple sketches of the surrounding buildings were actually pretty good, and he wasn’t sure why he was so proud of that fact. Keith stretched as he stood, yawning. With on last glance towards the building, he took off down the street.

Acxa was totally watching him from the window.

The four of them met back up at their hotel, and Keith decided to take a longer route just in case. He wasn’t a hundred percent sure that Acxa or someone else hadn’t tailed him. Once he felt comfortable, Keith headed up to Matt and Pidge’s suite.

As soon as he walked in, Lance practically leaped at him.

“What took you so long?” he asked. There was a hint of concern in his annoyance that made Keith smile.

“I wanted to make sure I wasn’t followed.” Keith sat next to Matt on the couch and watched his partner boot up his laptop.

“What makes you think you were going to be followed? What did you do?”

“Nothing I wasn’t supposed to.”

Lance gave him a look that basically translated to ‘bullshit’.

Keith relented. “Okay, so I didn’t actually follow Acxa today. I broke into her apartment instead.”

Next to him, Matt snorted. Lance seemed a little more exasperated.

“Dare I ask why?” Lance sighed.

“I saw an opportunity, and I took it.” Keith shrugged.

At this point, Matt decided to speak up. “Yeah, I probably should have warned you guys. Keith tends to deviate from plans sometimes. But it all works out in the end. Usually.”

“Thanks, Matt.”

“You got it, partner.”

It took Lance a few more moments to accept that fact. “Well, ignoring the fact that you’re an impulsive little bean, what did you find out?”

Keith sighed. “Honestly? Not a lot. Her place was spotless, pristine. Probably just a temporary base rather than her actual home. She did have a pretty fancy outfit laid out on her bed though. It was…weird. Like she wanted it to be seen.”

Matt hummed, his finger tapping against the side of his laptop. “That _is_ weird.”

“Yeah and I’m pretty sure she was on to me.”

Keith’s tone might have been a bit too casual. Lance was kind enough to point that fact out moments later.

“You think…dammit Keith why didn’t you start with that! And why are you so calm about it! And why is no one else concerned!?”

“Well,” Matt stopped typing as a frown came over his face. “To be honest, I kind of got the same feeling.”

“Say what now?”

“It’s just…Ezor was really easy to follow. I know I’m not as good at tailing people as you or Keith, but I know how to be invisible. I know how to blend into a crowd. And I also know what it feels like to be led.”

“Do you think she saw you?” Keith asked.

“No, but she was definitely looking for me. And she was lingering pretty much everywhere she went. Taking her time. Smelling the roses or whatever.”

Keith’s knee bounced up and down. It felt like there was something buzzing in his veins. Soft and subtle, but still there, keeping him on edge.

Slowly, Lance sat in one of the armchairs, his eyes distant. “Now that you mention it, that Zethrid lady was kind of weird…”

“So was Narti,” Pidge commented. She had also stopped working on her laptop and was quietly contemplating like the rest of the group.

Keith decided to say what they were all thinking. “So they definitely know we’re here.”

“Looks like it,” Pidge confirmed.

“Son of a nutcracker,” Lance groaned.

Matt set his laptop down on the coffee table and stood. He’d never looked more serious before and for Keith, it was honestly a little surprising. Matt always faced their jobs with professionalism, yes, but he was still pretty relaxed. Carefree almost? Maybe it was because all of their other jobs weren’t as sensitive as this. They had a time limit, competition. This was far more challenging.

“They know that _someone_ is here, not necessarily us,” Matt pointed out.

“Still not a good thing,” Lance commented. “Our element of surprise is completely shot.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Pidge piped up. “Besides Keith, it sounds like the rest of us got off without getting noticed.”

The group silently confirmed, nodding their heads.

“Then Keith with be our distraction.”

“Great. Awesome. Thanks, Pidge,” Keith groaned.

“Your fault for getting noticed, hot shot.”

Off to the side, Lance snorted. While the three of them bickered for a bit about nicknames and skills, Matt went over to the desktop computer Romelle had provided for them. Keith was distracted by sound of the rapid-fire typing. He glanced over and saw Matt practically hunched in his seat, completely focused.

He interrupted their conversation without even realizing it. “I know what to do.”

The three of them froze, sharing looks with one another before turning back to Matt.

“Care to clarify that for us buddy?” Lance asked.

“Okay.” Matt turned so that he was facing all of them. “Going off of the idea that the Generals knew that someone was going to tail them, I thought that might be a slim chance they were trying to lure someone in. Like, lead them along to something else.”

Keith’s mind went to the dress on Acxa’s bed. Laid out perfectly in the center of the bed. Matt continued.

“Ezor went to dance lessons today. Pidge, you said that Narti texting someone something about a party. Anything from you Lance?”

Everyone’s attention shifted to the tall boy lounging in his seat. Lance’s face was pulled down in thought, his brows furrowed. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a folded piece of paper.

“Just this. I saw her pull it out more than once and decided to lift it.”

Matt hurried over and grabbed the thick paper.  When he opened it, his eyes practically lit up with glee. “I knew it! It’s a party.”

Matt passed the paper over to Keith. It was thick and heavy, with a fancy gold border and elegant looking script. Stamped over the top was the word ‘Proof’ in tall capital letters. It was a mock up for a black tie event.

“That Duncan guy is throwing a party next month, and we’re going to be on the guest list.”

 

* * *

 

 

It took the full two weeks until the party for their plan to come together. Two weeks of more research, more observing, and more caffeine then a person should be legally allowed to have.

Keith stood in front of the mirror in his half of the suite. Romelle was staring at him critically with two bow ties in her hand.

“I think we’ll go with the gold,” she decided. “Gold is eye catching. Noticeable. That’s what we’re going for.”

Romelle handed the untied bow tie to Keith who just stared at it like it was a baby or one of Pidge’s gadgets. Basically, Keith had no idea what to do with the piece of fabric in his hands and held it like it was a complete fucking mystery.

Romelle sighed. “Lance, could you come in here? Keith needs help with his bow tie.”

“Coming!” he shouted in reply.

“Right, now I’m going to help Pidge with her hair. I’ll be back to wrangle yours in a bit.”

Keith frowned, glancing at his hair in the mirror. There were at least six different products in his hair alone and another three on his face. Lance had actually let Keith use his expensive moisturizer and he had to admit, his skin did feel nice.

His hair was softer than it had ever been before. It looked better too, glossy and so black is almost seemed purple in the light. Keith was pretty positive that he’d never been so well groomed in his life. He wasn’t sure what else Romelle was going to do.

Patting his shoulder, Romelle left to go check on Pidge just as Lance entered. The suit Romelle had gotten him fit Lance like a goddamn glove. He looked like celebrity or a fashion model or just—

 _He looks good_ , Keith thought over and over again.   _He looks really, really good._

Lance set to work on Keith’s bow tie, chatting like he always did. With him standing right in front of Keith, it gave him the opportunity to study Lance’s face.

Thing had been…good between them. Really good. If anything, it felt like old times. Way back to when they were both in high school and starting to get to know one another. There were moments of awkwardness, moments where Keith was caught staring or when he tripped over his tongue trying to talk, but it was still good. They were getting along.

They were friends.

Just friends.

Nothing more.

 

 

 

Keith wanted so much _more_.

Keith wanted to kiss Lance again. He wanted Lance to hug him and hold his hand. Keith wanted to be in love again, but he had no idea how to make that happen. He wasn’t even sure that Lance would want that again. Actually…he wasn’t even sure Lance was in love with him to begin with. They only kissed once. Only went on one date.

But for Keith, it started before that. A feeling that took root the moment they first became friends. Keith knew how he felt. How deep his emotions ran.

He didn’t know if Lance had ever felt the same.

“…and there we go. Another perfectly tied bowtie by yours truly.” Lance flipped Keith’s collar down and inspected his work. “I can’t believe the great Keith can’t tie his tie.”

“I can tie a tie. Bowties are just weird,” Keith huffed. “Also can we stop talking about tying ties? It sounds weird to say the same word for two different things.”

“Yeah. English is kind of stupid like that sometimes,” Lance agreed. “Maybe I’ll teach you more Spanish. Trust me, it makes a helluva lot more sense than English.”

“I’ll take you word for it,” Keith mumbled. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was getting nervous.

Keith was good at stealth. At slipping between crowds and scaling up buildings. He was not good at playing a role and causing a distraction. That was more of Lance’s area of expertise. But of course, Keith was the one who was spotted. All the Generals would be on the lookout for him during the party. So Keith had to cover for his team while they did all the work.

It was weird not being the one to actually commit the crime. Just another thing to add to his list of differences between his life in Marmora and now.

“You ready for tonight?” Lance asked. He was glancing at Keith in the mirror, a concerned tilt to his head.

“I guess. What about you? You got everything you need?” Keith asked.

“Yup.” Lance held open his jacket so that Keith could see the patterned lining. Keith’s well trained eyes searched for the additional seam on both sides of the jacket where a few of the various tools he’d be using tonight were stored. “I’m ready to crash this party.”

“Are you sure?” Keith asked. He was nervous for some reason. Nervous that something would go wrong and get Lance exposed. “You remember the steps I showed you? How to walk silently? You know how to secure the cable right? What about—“

“Keith, buddy, pal, you’re short circuiting on me here.”

Keith blinked. He didn’t realize that he was rambling. “Sorry. I know you can do this. I’m just nervous I guess.”

“You? But, you’ve done this literally hundreds of times.”

“Well, actually—”

Lance pinched Keith’s arm. “I don’t need an actually number, dude.”

Keith couldn’t keep the grumpy expression off his face. He hadn’t felt this anxious about a job since he was a kid. Next to him, Lance sighed and smiled softly.

“Look, you’re not used to being seen, I get it. But you’ve got nothing to worry about. Just pretend you’re there for a good time and be yourself.”

“Lance, you literally called me an antisocial cave dweller two days ago. I don’t think being myself is going to work in our favor,” Keith pointed out.

“Okay, you got a point there,” Lance relented. “Then how about you be yourself, but throw in a little of me, too?”

“What?”

“So like, not be completely narcissistic, but I’m good at working a crowd. I’m good at chatting people up and keeping their attention on me. Just, while you’re out there tonight at the party, make the Generals watch _you_. Make them pay attention to you. And if you don’t know what to do, just think ‘what would Lance do’. Even if you it’s something completely ridiculous, you’re still doing your job. You’re still keeping their focus on you and off the rest of us. Sound good?”

It was actually good advice. Really good advice. Keith could already feel a bit of the tension fall off his shoulders.

“Yeah…I think I can make this work.” Keith smiled. “But you did sound a little egotistical, if I’m being honest.”

Lance shrugged. “Eh, yeah I figured. All of that felt weird to say.”

Keith couldn’t hide the smile on his face. Words couldn’t express how good it felt to joke around with Lance. To be so comfortable around him again.

But all those thoughts had to be put on hold. They had a job to do, probably the biggest one yet. Keith took another look at himself in the mirror and took a deep breath.

He was ready.

 

* * *

 

 

Walking up to the Duncan mansion alone wasn’t as scary as he thought it would be. Keith stepped inside the ornate foyer, slipping his coat off his shoulders and handing it to a nearby attendant. He nodded his head in thanks and followed the brightly lit hallway to a grand ballroom.

It was funny to see an actual ballroom hosting a party. It seemed cliché almost that someone would show off their wealth like this. Cliché and also a little pretentious.

Keith’s heart was pounding in his chest, but his face remained cool and professional. A little haughty as he looked around at the other party goers. Romelle had swept his bangs out of his face and held them back with a sweet smelling gel. The rest of his long hair fell loosely on his back.

If anything, the change in style helped Keith melt into his role even more. He was here to distract. To attract attention so that his team had a shot of pulling this off. He felt more confident in his task now that he looked the part.

A waiter with a broad shoulders and a less than friendly glare passed by Keith with a tray of drinks. Keith grabbed one of the long stemmed glasses, carefully lifting the drink off the crowded tray. The waiter nodded and continued on his way. Instantly, Keith noticed the wire trailing from his ear.

“Heads up guys,” he murmured. “The staff is wired.”

Pidge’s voice came over his own earpiece. “ _Duncan probably outsourced a security company or something similar. He probably wanted to make sure nothing went wrong tonight_.”

“He sure is paranoid for a guy who likes to flaunt his wealth this much.” Keith grimaced as a tray of caviar something-or-other passed by. Keith couldn’t imagine spending that much money on finger food.

“ _He could stand to be a little more paranoid_.” Lance’s voice came over the earpiece next. “ _Matt only found two cameras back here_.”

“ _And twenty four at the front_ _entrance_ ,” Matt commented. “ _Guess we picked the right place for you to enter, Lance_.”

Lance grunted. “ _Yeah well most people don’t enter a mansion by dropping through a bathroom skylight_.”

Keith wanted to laugh so badly. He could just picture Lance scrambling up the side of the building, the evening chill making his cheeks and ears pink. If Lance wasn’t scaling up the side of a building with nothing but a thin wire to stop him from falling, it would have been a lot more amusing. But there was still a thrum of tension in Keith’s frame. Worry making his movements stiff.

 _Focus on your part_ , he thought. _Keep the attention on you._

Luckily, Keith didn’t have to search out his targets.

He heard Ezor first. A bright, bubbling laughter that cut through the dull party talk easily. Keith took a sip of his drink and glanced over to the source of the sound. Ezor’s vibrant magenta hair was pulled back into a complicated braid that looked more like a piece of art then actual hair. He dress was shimmered in the light and had a plunging back that showed off her smooth skin.

Her eyes darted over to Keith, almost like she was expecting him to be looking at her. There was a playful confidence in that look that almost reminded him of Lance. Almost.

Ezor slipped away from small group of men that had surrounded her and glided over to Keith. Gulping down the rest of his drink, Keith prepared to put on a show.

“Well hey there, handsome. Don’t think I’ve seen you before.” Ezor completely disregarded his personal space, placing one hand on his shoulder.

“I’ve never been invited before,” Keith answered. He tried to sound casual and wasn’t sure if he was quiet hitting the mark.

“Well, lucky for me you did get invited. I would have hated missing out on someone like you.”

Ezor was all smooth, flowing lines and overwhelming confidence to boot. Her smile was practically dripping with charm, but her eyes conveyed something else. Something almost venomous.

“Wanna dance, pretty boy?” Ezor’s other hand glided over the smooth material of Keith’s suit. She stepped closer, almost squishing Keith’s toes in the process.

“Sorry. I’m a terrible dancer,” Keith answered smoothly. “I wouldn’t want to embarrass you.”  

 _That and I don’t know what you would do if you got me alone_ , Keith thought. Even if they were surrounded by other dancers, there was still a number of things Ezor could do if the two of them were pressed together on the dance floor.

Ezor’s laughter filled the room easily. She slapped Keith heartily on the shoulder hard enough to sting. “Well aren’t you polite! Okay, okay, I can take a hint. I’ll leave you alone for now. But don’t let your guard down, pretty boy. I’ll get that dance eventually.”

Keith threw on the most Lance-like smile he could muster. “I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for you. I don’t want to be caught off guard.”

“Likewise.” With that final word, Ezor slipped back into the party. Keith let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. If he had still had a drink in his hand, it would have been shaking like crazy.

“… _dude, were you just power flirting_?” Lance’s voice in his ear made Keith jump. He coughed, adjusting the volume of his earpiece before he spoke.

“I was not power flirting, Lance. I don’t even know what that means.”

“ _Maybe he could give you some tips,_ _Lance_ ,” Pidge snorted.

“ _Hey_!” Lance barked.

Keith sighed. “Wasn’t the rule to not talk unless absolutely necessary? The more I talk to myself the weirder I look.”

“ _Keith is_ _right_ ,” Matt cut in. “ _No more chatter unless it’s needed. Let’s just stick with basic updates. Lance,_ _you’re_ _nearly there. You got your gear ready_?”

“ _Good to go, Matty Matt_.”

“ _Alright, you have the green light. Remember, there are sound sensors in there too. Nothing over fifty decibels_.”

“ _Roger_ ,” Lance said quietly. “ _If I have to get your attention, I’ll tap my mic. One for no, two for yes_.”

“ _Got it. Good luck, Lance_.”

“ _Thanks. Quiet time starts…now_.”

Keith felt his pulse speed up when Lance’s voice went quiet. Suddenly, everything felt so much more tense. Keith stood on the sidelines, idly watching the party guests pass by. He snagged another drink off a tray and tried not to down the whole thing in one go. They were woefully watered down.

Five minutes into staring at the party from afar, Keith realized he wasn’t really doing his job. He looked like he was waiting for something. Which in reality he was, but it was crucial that their competition didn’t think the same.

With reluctance, Keith pushed himself off the wall and made his way to the center of the party.

Going up to a person and starting a conversation was never Keith’s strong suit, but Lance’s advice seemed to working. Keith simply imagined what it would have been like if Lance were at the party instead.

The other boy would be friendly and open. He would dive head first into a group of people and make friends almost instantly. Lance would make sure that for that moment, for that one conversation, he was the center of attention. He would make sure all eyes were on him and then disappear like he was nothing more than a gust of fresh air.

He really was the perfect guy for this kind of situation. And so Keith had to emulate that.

Keith wasn’t as open or genuine, but he managed. It literally felt like he was jumping into a conversation, and that with one misstep or false word, he would fall flat on the floor. The first time didn’t go so well; everyone stared at him when he tried to join the conversation, but luckily a girl in the group complimented his tie. Romelle really knew what she was doing when she picked it out.

The minutes dragged by, Keith counting every one of them. It was supposed to take Lance eight and a half minutes to get to where he needed to be, and it was already getting close to ten. Something was wrong.

Suddenly, there was a tapping noise coming from his earpiece.

“ _Lance? Was that you?_ ” Matt asked.

 **Tap tap**.

“ _What’s wrong? Have you been spotted_?”

 **Tap**. Keith laughed with the rest of his group. He wasn’t even sure what was so funny.

“ _Are you at risk of being found_?”

**Tap tap.**

Keith excused himself from the group, joking about needed another drink. He could hear Pidge mumbling nervously over the mic.

“ _Do you need help_?” Matt asked.

 **Tap tap**.

“ _Keith_ —“

“I’m on it.” Keith’s eyes did a wide arc over the ballroom. His attention was drawn to Ezor once again, but this time she was hanging of the arm of another General. The large and intimidating Zethrid made everyone around her seem like children. Her imposing presence was hard to look away from.

Next Keith spotted Acxa, chatting with the host himself. Duncan looked extremely pleased with himself, and also quiet flushed. There was an impressive collection of empty glasses on a table behind him. Even with the watered down beverages, that much alcohol was sure to get anyone a tipsy.

Keith looked over the ballroom again and again, but he couldn’t find the last General.

 _Shit. How did I miss her…_ Keith quietly cursed himself for not realizing Narti’s absence earlier. Her nonexistence and Lance’s current predicament had to be connected. Keith needed to think quickly. He needed to draw Narti back to the party and away from Lance’s position. Taking one last sweeping glance over the party, Keith ducked into the nearest hallway.  
  
It was incredibly weird trying to be stealthy, but not too stealthy. Keith was walking a fine line of wanting to get caught and making his attempt to slip away unnoticed. It would have been a much funnier juxtaposition if Lance was literally in danger of being discovered in one of the private areas of the mansion.  
  
Keith put his years of training to the test, walking silently down a long hall outside of the party. To his left, he could hear the hustle and bustle of the staff. They must have had a break room or something on this side of the ballroom. Keith steered clear of the noise and hurried on his way.  
  
A few minutes had passed. By this point, Keith was sure one of the three Generals would have noticed his absence. He had to be gone long enough for them to reroute Narti. If Ezor, Zethrid and Acxa couldn’t find Keith, then Narti would be their last line of defense. She must have been patrolling the area around the vault since the beginning of the party. Keith cursed himself again for not noticing sooner.  
  
“ _Heads up,_ _Keith_ ,” Pidge murmured. “ _Ezor and Acxa have left the party. They’re looking for you_.”  
  
“Got it,” he whispered back.  
  
“ _Lance_?” Matt’s voice was almost unrecognizable. It was so serious.  
  
**Tap tap**.  
  
“ _Keith it trying to draw security to his position. Are you still cornered_?”  
  
**Tap tap**.  
  
A flutter of keys could be heard in the background. “ _Alright, let us know as soon as you’re in the clear_.”  
  
**Tap tap**.  
  
The little tapping noises were really starting to get on Keith’s nerves. But he couldn’t let it bother him. It was the only way they could communicate with Lance without blowing his cover immediately.  
  
Keith hurried through Duncan’s mansion. He had studied the lay out often enough to know exactly where to go, and also exactly where the Generals might cut him off. Every step was calculated, confident. _As if he really we’re heading to a mark._ Keith’s mind narrowed down to only the job and his teammates. That was all that mattered.  
  
“ _Zethrid’s out. All three are heading your way,_ _Keith_ ,” Pidge updated him. Keith simply grunted to let her know he heard. His pace quickened just a tick. In the distance, Keith heard the click of heels.  
  
“ _Make that four_.” Keith felt like his stomach just dropped right out of his body at the sound of Lance’s voice. Pidge and Matt both let out sighs of relief.  
  
“ _Okay…get to your next position, Lance, and hurry. That cost us too much_ _time_ ,” Matt urged.  
  
“ _I’ll make this next part quick_.”  
  
“ _Good. Keith? Time to get back to the party_.”  
  
Keith nodded and spun around on his heel, running smack into Acxa.  
  
“Son of a—”  
  
“And what, may I ask, are you doing so far away from the party?” Her tone left no room for bullshit. Acxa knew exactly what Keith was and just what a person like him would be doing on the opposite side of the mansion. They were just going through the motions at this point.  
  
But she didn’t know about Lance, hovering just outside the vault that held their prize. Keith had to keep it that way.  
  
With a quick breath to settle himself, Keith reached up and loosened his tie. “I’m pretty sure you already know the answer to that question.”  
  
Acxa blinked. Her eyes flickered up and down his frame in a cold stare. “I was just curious what your excuse would be.”  
  
“Excuse?”  
  
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know the lines. You were ‘just trying to find a bathroom’ or ‘going out for a smoke’. It’s textbook.”  
  
Keith couldn’t help but chuckle at that. She had a point. “Well, I figured you would have called me out for any excuse I tried. Might as well save us the time.”  
  
“So then, you’re giving up that easily?”  
  
“Not a chance. But I know when I’m cornered.” Keith turned towards the empty hall behind him. Seconds passed in silence before a figure stepped out from behind the corner. Narti was practically dripping in dark silks that complimented her long body perfectly. The fabric seemed to flow like water when she silently strode forward to meet them. Acxa hummed.  
  
“I’m impressed. Usually people don’t seem to notice Narti. It’s one of her greatest strengths.”  
  
“Trust me, I’m not all that great. I didn’t even notice she wasn’t at the party until a half an hour in.”  
  
A cool smile spread across Acxa’s face. A breathy laugh from Narti echoed behind him.  
  
Acxa raised her arm and spoke into the bracelet on her wrist. Keith realized it must have been some sort of communication device. “Found him. We’re heading back your way.”  
  
Keith didn’t get to hear the response as Narti gently pushed him in the right direction.  
  
The walk back was the definition of awkward. All Keith wanted to do was run and break free from the hold Acxa had on his shoulder, but he couldn’t. He was playing a part. Even if it was pretend, getting caught by the competition was making him antsy.  
  
Keith heard the party long before he reached it. The music had changed from a soft swell in the background to a rambunctious beat that made his bones rattle. Acxa sighed, rubbing her temple.  
  
“Will this night never be over?” she grumbled. Annoyance was clear in her tone. Keith latched on to it.  
  
“What, don’t like this kind of party?” he asked.  
  
“I don’t like this kind of job.”  
  
Keith was taken aback by her honesty. “Uh…”  
  
“You look like a fish with your mouth hanging open like that.”  
  
Next to him, Narti laughed again. Keith clamped his mouth shut, but he couldn’t help but let his tongue run away from him.  
  
“If you don’t like this job so much, why take it in the first place? You don’t have to stick around.”  
  
The three of them reached the doors to the party. The music was booming and there were voices just as loud and upbeat. Now that they were closer, the unmistakable rhythm of swing music was rattling the doors.  
  
Acxa paused outside the double doors, her hand resting on the handle.  
  
“So naïve…”she said quietly. “You don’t know what it’s like, living under someone’s thumb.”  
  
_You’re wrong_ , Keith thought wearily. _I know exactly how that feels._  
  
The doors swung open and the three of them rejoined the party. Acxa and Narti hovered by his side for a moment, but then quietly stepped away once they had made it to the most crowded area. Keith found himself under constant scrutiny by the Generals. They watched his every move from a distance. Zethrid in particular looked ready to jump him if he so much as thought about sneaking out again.  
  
Keith was dying to check in with his team, but it was too risky. He turned down the volume on his ear piece a little too low. With the change in music, it was hard to make out actually words from his com. With the way the Generals were watching him now, they would notice him trying to adjust it in a heartbeat. They had to believe that he was working alone.  
  
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed before Ezor was slithering up to his side yet again.  
  
“You look a little grumpy. Night not go as planned?” she teased. If only she knew.  
  
“Not exactly,” Keith answered.  
  
“Well, even if you didn’t get what you wanted, that doesn’t mean you still can’t have a fun time.” Ezor latched on to his arm, leaning into him. “I still wouldn’t mind that dance.”  
  
Before Keith had a chance to say no, someone else cut in.  
  
“Sorry, beautiful, but I don’t think you’re his type.” Lance wore a simply devilish grin. It made Keith’s heart stutter in his chest and his legs feel like they had been replaced with jelly. How could one look possibly make Keith feel this way?  
  
Ezor frowned, glancing back up at Keith one last time before letting go of his arm. “Damn, I guess you’re right. Oh well, this was fun while it lasted. See you around, pretty boy.”  
  
With one final wink, Ezor was gone from Keith’s side. That just left Lance.  
  
“H-hi,” Keith stuttered. Lance smirked.  
  
“Hi yourself.”  
  
Keith blinked a few times, trying to focus on something besides Lance looking extremely handsome in that charcoal grey suit. It was a challenge to say the least.  
  
“So, how’s your night going?” he asked.  
  
Lance tilted his head to the side, tapping his lip with one long finger. “Pretty good, actually. I thought I was going to be late, but it looks like I made it just in time.”  
  
“Oh yeah? Well, I hope you didn’t forget anything on your way here.”  
  
“Nah, I got everything I need.” Lance subtly ran his hand down the front of his jacket. “But what I do need is a drink. Care for anything, sunshine?”  
  
Keith had to bite his lip to stop the smile from engulfing his face. “I’ll have whatever you’re drinking.”  
  
With a gentle hand on his arm, Lance led Keith through the crowd. One of the few little bars scattered across the ballroom was flooded with people, but Lance wove in between them easily. He turned back around with two drinks in his hands.  
  
“Got to love a party with an open bar,” Lance commented.  
  
Keith nodded, taking the drink offered to him and glancing around. They two of them were still being watched. Keith tipped the drink up to his lips and spoke quietly. “Is Pidge here yet?”  
  
“Not yet. But she’ll come around soon. It gives us just enough time for a dance.”  
  
Keith nearly spit out his drink. “Wh-what?”  
  
“C’mon, you can’t go to a party like this without dancing.” Lance set his drink down on the bar.  
  
“I-I don’t dance.”  
  
“All you have to do is sway to the music.”  
  
“I don’t _sway_.”  
  
Lance rolled his eyes. He began slowly peeling Keith’s fingers off of his drink glass. Keith didn’t even notice he’d been clutching it so hard. Lance leaned in, close enough that Keith could feel his breath on his cheek.  
  
“Don’t tell me your scared, _pretty boy_.”  
  
The use of that annoying nickname was probably what set Keith over the edge. Downing his drink in one in impressive gulp, Keith slammed the glass back down on the bar and latched onto Lance’s hand.  
  
“Fine, I’ll dance with you. But only for one song.”  
  
Lance grinned. He turned away and began pulling Keith along. “One is all it takes.”  
  
It felt like every eye in the room was on the two of them. Maybe it was Keith’s imagination, or maybe some lingering worries from the heist they were still in the middle of.  
  
The jolt of nerves in his belly could also be a side effect from the way Lance’s hand held his waist so confidently. Light enough to where Keith could easily slip away, but firm enough to know that Lance didn’t want to let him go.  
  
Keith felt his stomach swoop when the hand on his waist pulled him even closer to avoid colliding with another couple. After the twirling dancers had passed, Keith didn’t move away.  
  
Their closeness only made Keith feel even more on display. Like there was a spotlight shining down on him and Lance. Like at any moment, one of the Generals would pull them apart and rip the deed out of Lance’s hands.  
  
Or maybe it wasn’t even that complicated. Maybe it just felt like every eye was on them because they were in the only two men dancing together.  
  
_Not like I care_ , Keith thought to himself. He pulled Lance a little closer when an older woman and her far younger looking dance partner spun on by. Honestly, the guy looked about Keith’s age and the woman had obviously done a few rounds of Botox too many.  
  
Above him, Lance snorted. “Wow. I kind of forgot how feisty you can get.”      
  
“Feisty is a dumb word,” Keith replied. “It makes me sound like a cat or like you're flirting with some girl who keeps rejecting you.”  
  
Lance coughed. Actually, he might have been choking. Keith wasn’t too sure.  
  
“You okay?” he asked after a while. Lance’s face was a little red.  
  
“Y-yeah. Yeah, I’m good. Damn Keith, you really know how to throw a guy off his game.”  
  
“Huh?”  
  
“Nothing. Come on, let’s get closer to the edge.”  
  
Keith could hear a bit of mumbling in his ear. His hand was itching to reach up and adjust his volume, but it turned out he didn’t have to.  
  
Another couple twirled over to meet them. Pidge was clad in a beautiful dark green dress that reminded Keith of the color of moss. Her hair was pulled up in some sort of fancy bun and there was a shawl draped on her shoulders. Matt wore a black suit with a green tie that matched his sister’s dress perfectly. He was wearing Pidges large round glasses, which honestly made him look like an entirely different person.  
  
“Six minutes till show time, boys,” Pidge muttered under her breath. “The bag is in the planter to the right of the exit.”  
  
“Got it. Thanks, Pidgey.” Lance grinned.  
  
With a small nod, Matt steered his sister across the dance floor, disappearing into the crowd. The music was slowly coming to an end. There was a little flurry of applause for the band after the last note rang out. Keith and Lance stood side by side, clapping for the band. In the middle of the applause, Lance leaned over.  
  
“Ready for the finale?” he murmured.  
  
Keith glanced up at Lance and grinned. “Are you?”  
  
The crowd around them began to shift, getting ready to dance once again. But before they could settle into their places, something stopped them.  
  
It came from everywhere at once. There was a high pitched whine that almost sounded like a siren. Keith flinched, covering his ears with his hands. In seconds, multiple glasses shattered on tables and in people hands. There were shouts and screams as glass began to litter the floor.  
  
As quickly as it had come, the sound disappeared and along with it, so did the lights.  
  
People were frantic, first terrified of the strange sound and now utterly panicked by the blackout. Keith felt the crowd close in around him. People pushing and clamoring to get away from, well, just _away_.  
  
Pidge and Matt combined created a confusing nightmare that would have even the Generals at a loss for what to do. However, that would only last so long.  
  
Keith pushed back against the crowd. Someone slammed into his back but he fought back just as hard. There was a voice shouting above the chaos, asking everyone to calm down. There was no room for rational thought when people were this panicked.  
  
“Time to go!” Lance shouted next to him.  
  
Without another word, Keith turned and hurried to the exit. He could feel Lance right behind him, his steps echoing Keith’s. They weaved their way through the crowd, ignoring the distant shouts and worried voices. All around them the party guests were still reeling from shock, they didn’t even notice two guests plowing their way through.  
  
The lights outside the ballroom were out too. In fact, the entire mansion was without power. Cameras, lights, everything. Even cell signals weren’t working. The Holt siblings had essentially created a black hole in this posh French neighborhood.  
  
Keith had plotted out the escape route himself. He ran without a hint of hesitation, not hindered by the darkness one bit. Lance didn’t move as confidently as Keith. His steps were hesitant. A little nervous, if Keith had to pick a word. Knowing that time was of the essence, Keith slowed down and reached back.  
  
He grabbed Lance’s arm, causing the other boy to jump at the contact. Keith followed Lance’s arm down to his hand and grasped it tightly.  
  
“I’ve got you.”  
  
Lance’s hand squeezed ever so slightly. “I know.”  
  
Their path twisted and turned, expertly avoiding the security guards and normal house staff. If there was one thing Keith knew how to do, that was getting away from a crime unseen. The pounding pulse in his ear only seemed to heighten his senses.  Every shadow was perfectly clear, every noise was carefully avoided. Lance’s hand in his own felt like a constant stream of energy that fueled Keith’s movements.  
  
It took exactly four minutes and forty nine seconds to get out of the mansion unseen. Keith had it nailed down to the last millisecond.  
  
The pair swiftly dropped out of a window just a few rooms down from the main entrance. Outside, security was still running around like mad, trying to find a source for the problem. By the look of things, they were beginning to organize evacuating the guests.  
  
Lance’s hand slipped out Keith’s grasp.  
  
“This way,” he whispered.  
  
Lance crouched low to the ground, practically crawling towards the edge of the garden. Inside a large rectangular planter, Lance pulled out a small duffel bag. With the bag in hand, the pair made their way to the next checkpoint.  
  
On the side of the house, near the kitchen, there were several large catering vans. One of which had the name of the company misspelled on the side. Keith and Lance dashed over to the van as quietly as they could. The back door opened easily and the two slid inside.  
  
“All ready to go, boys?” Romelle’s head popped up from the front seat. She was still wearing a chefs coat and her long blonde hair was stuffed inside of a hair net.  
  
Lance unzipped the bag and checked over it quickly. He glanced up at Keith and grinned. “Looks like were all good.”  
  
“Then let’s get a move on.”

 

* * *

 

 

The coffee table in Keith and Lance’s suite was nearly overflowing with the items Lance had grabbed from the vault. It was a wonder how he managed to take so much and the deed in such a short amount of time.  
  
“You’re impressed, aren’t you?” Lance grinned. He was lounging in one of the arm chairs watching Keith look over his haul.  
  
“Don’t answer that, Keith. You’ll only blow up his ego even more,” Pidge teased. She was smiling just as widely as Lance.  
  
Keith was actually pretty impressed with the amount of stuff Lance was able to steal. There was enough on the table to nearly double their payment. Keith thought about different ways to use that money. Maybe he’d by Shiro a fancy new bike. The guy would flip if Keith tried to buy him a car.  
  
Matt strode into the room a few moments later, Romelle at his side.  
  
“Alright guys, looks like we’ve got a flight out of here first thing tomorrow morning. So I would get packing.”  
  
Lance sunk into his seat and groaned. “Ugh, come on, Matt. What’s with you and early morning flights? Some of us need more than four hours of sleep to function.”  
  
“Actually, you can blame me for that one, Lance,” Romelle spoke up. “I assumed after such a long time here in Paris, the four of you might like a bit of an upgrade. And well, I happen to have a fair few connections with the airlines…”  
  
“Please tell me this is all leading up to First Class seats.” Lance was now bouncing in his seat like an excited puppy.  
  
Romelle pull four boarding passes out of her purse. “Enjoy your First Class seats, my friends.”  
  
Pidge whooped, jumping out of her chair and snagging a ticket before anyone else. She may have picked on Lance for his exuberant tendencies, but she could be just as silly sometimes.  
  
Keith smiled at their antics. He’d never actually flown First Class either. Traveling in coach so much did teach him how to sleep in almost any position, but it would be nice to stretch out for once and enjoy a little luxury.  
  
Following his typical post job cool down, Keith strode across the room picked up the deed they worked so hard to recover. They were storing it in a sturdy black folder so that it wouldn’t bend and covered it with a plastic sleeve for extra protection. The old paper was yellowed and frayed in the corners. The ink, nearly fifty years old, was greyed in some areas. However it was still perfectly legible, ensuring that their client would get what they needed.  
  
It wasn’t the most expensive item Keith had stolen over the years. In fact, its value didn’t really lie in money at all. Sure, the land outlined on the deed was worth a pretty penny, but it paled in comparison to what it was worth to the family. The people who had lived there all their lives. The deed ensured their future, their children’s future. It was a little humbling to be holding something that powerful.      
  
“Whatcha doing?” Lance had appeared at Keith side, his voice soft. He had been doing that lately. Using a different tone when it was just him and Keith talking. Almost like…  
  
_No_ , Keith thought. _I don’t want to get my hopes up_.  
  
“Nothing,” he answered. “I’m just looking.”  
  
Lance hummed. “Hm. Kind of crazy that one little piece of paper caused so much drama.”  
  
“It’s an important piece of paper.”  
  
“Yeah, I guess it is.”  
  
Keith closed the folder, tucking it back in hidden compartment inside one of their suitcases.  
  
“Oh.” Lance held out a boarding pass for Keith, smiling. “I made sure we were sitting next to each other. I got you the window seat.”  
  
“Th-thanks.” Keith took the pass, glancing at the seat number.  
  
“And since you’re horribly movie deprived, I downloaded another movie that I just know you’ll love.”  
  
“Oh yeah? What’s it called?”  
  
“ _Starship Troopers_.” Lance beamed.  
  
“Sounds…weird.”  
  
“Oh, it definitely is. It’s about earth going to war with giant, space bugs. It’s a classic.”  
  
Keith chuckled. “I guess I’ll take your word for it.”  
  
“Well, no time to dilly dally. Let’s get packing!” Lance bounded to his side of the suite, throwing the door open.  
  
Keith watched as Lance piled all his clothes onto the bed and began sorting things diligently. All the while, he was chatting about movie plots and cheesy special effects loud enough for Keith to hear.  
  
_Maybe it’s not a bad thing_ , Keith though. He ignored his own empty suitcase in the other room and went to Lance’s open door. _Maybe I can get my hopes up_.  
  
Keith listened to Lance count down his top ten favorite movies well into the morning. With only twenty minutes to pack, Keith threw all his things into his suitcase and sat on it to make sure it closed. It wasn’t until they got the airport that Keith realized he forgot his toothbrush, but it didn’t really matter.  
  
For the first time in forever, he was just Keith, hanging out with Lance like did when they were teens. There was no secrets, no hurt feelings, nothing but a conversation and some laughs.  
  
Keith knew that it wasn’t smart to get his hopes up, but he couldn’t help it. His instincts were shouting at him to follow the boy with the sea blue eyes. To reach out and grab him, not let anything get in the way of telling him how he felt. After suffering through years and years of unhappiness, this was his moment take it all back. To be happy. To have family. To have love.  
  
Keith was good at following his instincts. They never steered him wrong before.

 

 

 _Well I wanna feel_  
_And I wanna see_  
_We can work it out_  
_Will ya wait for me?_  
_I got your back_  
_Are you on your feet?_  
_We can work it out_  
_Will ya dance with me?_  
_Every single night_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo sorry for the hiatus! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Work has been pretty stressful and it sending my anxiety through the roof. It kind of kept me from focusing on this big ol' story for a long ass time. I'm not sure when I'll get the next chapter done, but fear not friends! I still love this story and will be continuing to work on it when I can :D We're at the cusp of the second half of this fic and lemme tell ya, there are some scenes i have been WAITING to write since day one. the drama is far from over :D
> 
> thanks for your kudos and comments! I really appreciate every bit of love this fic gets <3 <3
> 
>  
> 
> [fic playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7NCqaPlsQZbK0VVgTYwxhiz6CMAuw65w)


	10. And the darkness fades away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Go ahead, take a photograph  
> Take whatever time will allow  
> Thank you for the good ol' days  
> They're happening right now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from the song [Lost Boy Life](https://youtu.be/ME4lSWxxhnU) by Computer Games
> 
> Yo, [annalyia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalyia/pseuds/annalyia) had me dying at some of the comments she left me while editing.

Your life is turning into a TV drama.” Keith’s blunt comment only made Shiro laugh.

“Yeah…it kind of is, isn’t it?” Shiro hadn’t been able to wipe that dreamy look off his face for a whole day, meaning his date must have gone extremely well. A date that took place in the cafeteria at the hospital because, of course, Shiro was smitten with someone who worked in his hospital. It’s not like the man had much of a social life outside of his work.

The two brothers were sitting in their vaguely empty living room, watching the news with the volume down low. It was Shiro’s day off and they had plans to go to Ikea and upgrade their apartment. They had been living there for four months already and the living room was still embarrassingly bare. It was time to make their apartment truly feel like home.

“So what’s this mystery guy’s name?” Keith asked.

“Adam.” There was a weird, wistful tone to Shiro’s voice now. Honestly, he looked like he was two seconds away from having cartoonish hearts in his eyes. Keith would have made fun of him if he himself wasn’t feeling the same sort of fluttering butterflies every time he thought of a certain blue eyed, Cuban boy.

“Did you guys bond over your crazy schedules and terrible cafeteria mac and cheese?” Keith asked instead.

“The mac and cheese is actually pretty good. It’s the coleslaw you want to stay away from.”

“Huh, I’ll try to remember that.”

Things were back to normal, now that Keith had returned from France. Their client had been overwhelmingly happy that they managed to get the deed back and actually wanted to pay them extra. Allura politely declined, and instead hinted at the fact that she would much rather have a vacation. Ten minutes later, their whole team had a free, one week stay at their client’s private beach house in the Caribbean. The house had ten rooms, a tennis court, and a pool that was both indoors _and_ outdoors.

It was a mini mansion smack dab on a random island. Keith was already daydreaming about laying on the beach without a care in the world. Maybe he’d bring Shiro along too. The guy could use a break.

Work was quiet, and for once, Keith was happy about it. He was used to constantly working. Constantly looking for high value jobs or training his body for whatever challenge came his way. Now, he didn’t have to. Now he could just revel in the fact that he did well and relax for a while.

Relax and come up with a plan. A plan to…woo Lance? That wasn’t quite what Keith had in mind, but it was literally the only word he could think of. There was one thing he knew for certain, and that was his feelings. The last night they spent together in Paris showed him that there was hope. There was a possibility of something between them, and for once Keith wasn’t going to let his fear stop him.

If he got a no, then he would move on. It would suck. It would _royally_ suck to have his honest feelings shot down, but something told him that wasn’t going to be the case. A bubbling feeling in his gut was practically pulling him towards Lance at a startling speed. Everything in him seemed to be shouting that this was right. His feelings were right and good and deserved to be acted upon.

So that’s what Keith was going to do.

Eventually.

Suddenly, Shiro hopped up from his spot. “Alright, ready to go?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Keith sighed. “I have a question though.”

“Shoot.”

“How are we supposed to cart all our stuff back since neither of us have a car?”

“Well if we get anything huge, they can always ship it.”

“Yeah, but what about the smaller stuff? Like, I know we need new dishes and a new pot, y’know, stuff like that?”

Shiro bumped Keith’s shoulder with his own. “You’ve got arms, don’t you? We can carry it back.”

“So we have to ride the bus with all our stuff?” Keith groaned.

“It’s not that bad. Besides, it’s a Tuesday. No one rides the bus on a Tuesday.”

“I already know that’s a lie.”

Despite the impending doom of carrying all their stuff on a bus, Keith slipped on his jacket and hurried out the door. He’d never actually been to Ikea before. The furniture from his room was bought online and delivered to their door. However, everyone he knew (which only amounted to like, seven people but whatever) talked about Ikea like it was the Promised Land.

A whole building, filled to the brim with useful items you never knew you needed. Everything designed elegantly with a strong, minimalistic tone. A whole floor dedicated to showing you just what your life could look like if you were willing to spend your entire life savings on one amazing kitchen.

Keith didn’t breathe a word about how excited he was to explore the fabled Ikea, but judging by the laugh that Shiro was failing to hold back, it was pretty obvious.

The two brothers headed outside to begin their quest, when an unexpected adventurer appeared on their trail.

Keith blinked several times to try and figure out if his eyes were playing tricks on him. Lance couldn’t be outside their apartment, one leg still in his car like he was frozen getting out. Wide blue eyes met Keith’s directly before flickering over to Shiro. After that, Lance practically fell out of his car, disappearing behind it for a moment before springing back up.

“H-hey Keith! And um, Keith’s brother? I think? That or you’re just a random stranger leaving Keith’s building at the same time, so…hi random stranger?” Lance was rambling like a damn fool. A cute fool.

Shiro glanced at Keith from the corner of his eye, a knowing glint in his gaze. “Hi. I am Keith’s brother. We sort of met before at Allura’s, but we were never properly introduced. I’m Shiro.”

Lance stumbled up the curb, reaching for Shiro’s outstretched hand. “Oh, right…I remember now. Sorry for calling you a random stranger.”

“No problem. It’s good to finally meet you, Lance.”

“Likewise.”

As nice as it was seeing Shiro finally meet Lance, Keith had a few questions.

“What are you doing here Lance?” he asked. “Are we supposed to meet up or something?”

“Ah no well…you see, I was just around the neighborhood and I was all like, ‘hey, Keith lives around here’. So I thought that maybe you’d, I don’t know, wanna hang out or something…?”

“Hang out? Well, Shiro and I were just going to Ikea—”

“So this is totally a bad time, huh?” Lance quickly cut him off, his face getting redder by the second. “I should have texted you first. My bad. I’ll, uh…I guess I’ll catch you some other time.”

Keith’s brain was still trying to process the fact that Lance randomly appeared in front of his building that he didn’t realize the other boy was already leaving. Luckily for Keith, he had Shiro.

“Hey Lance, before you go, could I ask you a favor?”

Lance blinked. “Um sure?”

“If it’s not too much to ask, could you give us a ride to Ikea? Neither of us have a car, and it would save us at lease on bus trip.”

Lance stuttered for a second, his gaze flickering over to Keith’s for a moment. Suddenly, a big smile consumed his face.

“Yeah, of course I can give you guys a ride! Or better yet, I’ll go with you! That way you two don’t have to ride the bus at all.”

“Are you sure?” Shiro asked. “I don’t want to take up your whole day.”

“It’s totally fine! I’ve literally got nothing else to do besides re-watching _Friends_ for the ninetieth time and finishing off a gallon of ice cream. You’re actually saving me the calories.”

Keith frowned. “Why do you have to eat a whole gallon of ice cream, anyway?”

“I made a bet with Pidge. Obviously.”

“Yeah, obviously.” Keith couldn’t hide the grin on his face. Lance just had that effect on him.

Lance ushered the two brothers in to his car, already chatting a mile a minute.

Keith opted to sit in the back of the car, to, y’know, be _polite_. However, it took all of two minutes for Keith to regret showing that bit of kindness to his dear older brother.

“So Lance, I feel like I know you pretty well already. Keith talks about you a lot.”

If the child lock wasn’t broken on his door, Keith would have flung himself out of the car at the first opportunity. Lance’s smile grew into the cockiest thing Keith had ever seen.

“Oh, does he now?” Lance practically purred. “Well, what do you know?”

Shiro chuckled. “Fair warning, sometimes he didn’t say the nicest things. For a good solid week I’m pretty sure he kept complaining about your—”

“Takashi, I will _end_ _you_ ,” Keith seethed. Lance burst out laughing at their antics.

“Oh man, ah holy shit…you guys remind me of me and my sister.”

Thankfully, Shiro changed the subject. “You have a sister?”

“Yep! I have two sisters actually. And two brothers.”

From there, the conversation moved to the safe topic of family. Keith should have distracted the two of them with family talk from the beginning. Both Shiro and Lance could talk for days about their families. From Lance with all his siblings and nieces and nephews, to Shiro gushing about his amazing parents and various cousins. It seemed the two could listen to the other tell stories for hours like this.

Keith didn’t want to say it, but he felt pretty relieved that Shiro and Lance were getting along so well. Especially once they moved on from poking fun at him.

The conversation kept going all the way to Ikea.

The parking lot was fucking huge. Keith had never been to Disneyland, but he could imagine the parking lot there looking just the same. It was the middle of a work day and yet the only available parking was all the way in the back. There were tons of trucks and SUVs stuffed into the narrow spaces, all awaiting to be filled with furniture and other home appliances.

Lance’s little hand-me-down car looked almost laughable in comparison.

“Alright, let’s get this adventure started.” Shiro sounded much more enthusiastic about this shopping trip then he did earlier. Maybe the opportunity to spend time with the boy his little brother was pinning after made the trip more exciting. Either way, Keith quickly walked ahead, hoping to avoid Shiro’s sharp eyes.

Inside that giant blue and yellow building, Keith found Neverland.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t as magical as Neverland, but it was pretty damn close.

It felt like a never ending journey through fake rooms. Bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms, everything a person could need stuffed into a tiny space, yet still looking _so_ comfortable. The top floor of the building was one giant twisting and turning showroom that Keith was horribly distracted by. How anyone got in and out of this place in under an hour was beyond him.

“Do you have to sit on every couch?” Shiro asked with a sigh. They had only made it about ten feet in and Keith was already taking his time.

“Well we need one. I’m testing them out.” He shrugged. He bounced on the current couch and frowned. “Too soft.”

“How can anything be too soft?” Lance asked. He strode over and plopped down next to Keith. “Here let me—oh shit this is too soft. I’m like, sinking in. I’m actually getting swallowed by the cushions.”

“Told you.”

Shiro groaned. “This is going to take all day, isn’t it?”

Keith and Lance answered at the same time.

“Yes.”

“Oh, most definitely.”

“Well then.” Shiro turned back the way they came. “If we’re going to be here forever, I might as well get something to drink. Either of you want anything?”

“I’m good, thanks,” Lance answered.

“Water for me,” Keith said.

With that, Shiro made his way back to the little food court. Keith stood up from the couch (and also pulled Lance up after he complained about being sucked into the lint-filled depths), and made his way over to one of the bigger displays.

It was almost a whole house. There was a living room and a huge kitchen, with a pantry space in the back neatly organized with countless Ikea containers. There was even a fake bathroom set up in the corner with a brightly lit vanity.

Keith went to the fake kitchen and began curiously opening all the cupboards. There were plates and cups all in their proper places and even some fake food boxes. It was almost like wandering around a giant dollhouse. Everything perfect and in its proper place.

“You would open all the cabinets,” Lance teased.

“Says the guy who opened the fridge the minute he stepped in here,” Keith shot back.

Lance grumbled, leaning on the marble island. “So what all do you guys need?”

“Some stuff for the kitchen and living room. All we have is Shiro’s old stuff and it’s a little run down.”

“My stuff has character.” Shiro reappeared, sliding a water bottle across the counter to Keith. “Alright, ready to get started?”

 

* * *

 

 Lance had no idea what he was doing. He was in Ikea, which was simple enough. He was in Ikea with Keith and his super buff, super intimidating older brother Shiro. Lance was also currently trying not to burst out laughing at the sight of Shiro hip checking Keith off a kitchen stool and then continuing down the aisle calmly like nothing happened.  Keith of course, couldn’t let his brother win.

As Lance watched Keith somehow loop one of those paper yard sticks into Shiro’s belt loop, he couldn’t help but feel a little…out of place.

When he finally worked up the nerve to ask Keith out, Lance had envisioned the morning going much differently. Lance wanted to be cool, casual, maybe even a little suave? Sure, it would have been smarter to actually _text_ Keith and asked what he was doing, but Lance was going for the wow factor here. He was ready to impress. He didn’t think that he’d be interrupting any plans. Which, looking back, was a bit of dumb move.

Still, it wasn’t all bad. He finally got to meet the infamous Shiro. Keith talked about his older brother much more then he realized, and it was nice to finally put a chiseled, handsome face to the name. However, the major drawback was that this definitely wasn’t a date, and Lance was pretty much relegated to being the third wheel to sibling shopping shenanigans.

It was kind of worth it when Keith managed to fit six more paper yard sticks into Shiro’s belt loop. The guy looked like he had a wispy horse tail and had absolutely no idea.

After spending a good hour and a half on the showroom floor, the three of them travelled down stairs to actually start shopping. Shiro grabbed the shopping cart right out a Keith’s hands, stating that he didn’t trust his brother not to crash into some display. Considering that Keith seemed to have the attention span of a Chihuahua on a car ride at the moment, Lance thought that Shiro made a good call.

It only took another thirty minutes for Keith to disappear completely.

“Okay, I swear he was _just_ here a second ago…” Lance turned back to Shiro who didn’t look surprised at all that his brother disappeared.

“Maybe he went back upstairs? I think he mentioned he was hungry.” Shiro shrugged.

“Maybe…”

“Hey, Lance?”

Lance felt a flutter of nerves in his stomach. He still didn’t know where he stood with Shiro. “Y-yeah? What’s up?”

“Sorry if we’ve made you feel a little left out. Keith and I get a little stuck in our own world sometimes.”

“Th-That’s fine! I mean, I totally get what you mean. Me and my sister Veronica get like that sometimes, too. Even if were out with the whole family, we kind of just do stuff on our own without realizing it. It’s not like we ignore everyone else, but we just kind of…I don’t know how to explain it.”

Shiro smiled. “I think I know what you’re trying to say. Keith and I aren’t even related, but that doesn’t seem to stop us. It’s like he was always meant to be my brother.”

“Keith mentioned that you guys hung out a lot as kids. Were your families close?”

“I think so. When Keith and his dad moved in next door, I was just about nine years old so I’m not too sure. All I remember is that Keith’s dad was out of town a lot so Keith stayed with us all the time. It’s kind of hard not to think of him as my little brother when I watched him grow up.”

Lance couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. It was nice getting bits of Keith’s past from a time when things were good. Back in a time when he was loved and cared for like any young child should be. Lance didn’t let his mind wander much further than that.

“So…should we look for him?” Lance asked. “I’m like, low-key worried he’s going to get lost.”

“Do you mind going after him?”

“Huh?”

“Keith put a ton of stuff in the cart that we don’t even need. If you go and find him, I can sort this out and hopefully he won’t notice.”

Shiro’s logic seemed pretty sound, but the slight smirk on his lips made Lance think that his intentions weren’t all that simple. Lance grinned, silently thanking the man.

“Sure thing! Hey, how about we meet you near the registers? That’ll give you time to look over everything.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Lance was practically skipping back towards the stairs. Whether Keith running off was intentional or not, Shiro basically giving Lance the green light for some one on one time with Keith was definitely deliberate. Maybe Lance was already in Shiro’s good graces.

The food court was, not surprisingly, Keith-free. Lance spun on his heel and headed back into the twisting path of the showroom, his eyes peeled for a familiar tuff of dark hair. The search didn’t take too long.

From a distance, Lance silently watched Keith slowly wandered into one of the many show bedrooms. It was one of the smaller spaces, with dark grey walls and crisp white cabinets. The hanging lamp in the center looked like a star burst.

Keith was silently taking everything in, running his fingers over the desk and opening the cabinets. He looked over every knick-knack and art piece that was displayed throughout the fake room to make it more homey.

What Lance wouldn’t give to know what was going on in that head of his.

Lance strode over, not wanting to wait a second longer.

“Having fun?” he asked as soon as he was in ear shot.

Keith sat on the bed, looking up at Lance. “Shiro finally noticed I was gone, huh?”

“Yep. Also how did you do that? I swear you were standing right next to me.”

“Can’t tell you. Trade secret.”

“We’re in the same line of work, dumbass.”

“Then it’s a Keith Secret.” He shrugged. “I can’t have you stealing all my tricks.”

“Ah ha! See I _knew_ you were just as competitive as me. Pidge fully believes that our rivalry is in my head.”

“Well, in your head it’s probably more dramatic.”

“Fair.”

Keith cracked a smile. Lance couldn’t help but feel a warm flutter in his chest.  

The casual Ikea shoppers seemed to avoid them at this point. No one approached the fake bedroom they were in nor did they even spare them a glance. It was almost like they were in a bubble, able to see everything around them but invisible to the world. Lance liked it.

They sat across from each other on the large king sized bed. The sheets were already ruffled and unkempt, most likely from the various other shoppers who’d already stopped by. Lance couldn’t help but run his fingers over the cool fabric.

“Was there a reason you showed up at my apartment today? Or was it really just a coincidence?” Keith asked.

Lance couldn’t help but chuckle. It was very much a ‘Keith’ sort of thing to get right to the point.

“I actually swung by to see if you wanted to go on a date with me,” Lance stated calmly. The furious red blush that consumed Keith’s face was actually pretty hilarious. He quite literally looked like a cartoon character. Lance half thought that steam was going to shoot out Keith’s ears.

“O- _oh_. That’s, uh, t-that’s a thing…”

“It is.” Lance nodded.

“That’s was also pretty blunt of you.”

“Eh, I’m tired of the whole dating game thing. I’ve learned it’s better to get straight to the point, more often than not.”

Keith somehow blushed even darker. Any more and Lance would have been concerned for his health. Keith twirled a strand of dark hair through his fingers, his eyes focused on the patterned blanket folded at the end of the bed. The first bit of uncertainty began to tear at Lance’s confidence.

“You don’t have to give me an answer right now or anything,” Lance said. “I just wanted to get it on your radar or, whatever…”

“…what if I do have an answer?” Keith asked quietly.

“Th-then that’s good too! Um, that’s _great_ actually. So uh…what do you think?”

Keith turned and looked up at Lance with those big, curious eyes. It really shouldn’t be legal to have eyes more beautiful than any galaxy.

“I think...I think that I’d like that. Going on a date.”

“With me?”

“Of course with you. There’s nobody else here, Lance.”

“I just had to make sure! For all I know, Ryan Reynolds could have been standing behind me trying to steal my thunder.”

“Who?”

Lance actually had to pause and take a breath. “Oh you poor, deprived soul. I keep forgetting just how out of touch you are.”

“Uh…”

“Fear not, young one! I will guide you thought this pop culture wasteland and teach you of its many wonderful inhabitants.”

Keith sighed, but Lance was pretty sure there was a smile hidden in those eyes.

“Let’s go find Shiro before he puts back everything I wanted to buy.” Keith rose from the bed, checking his phone quickly before slipping it into his back pocket.

“Lead the way, sunshine.”

 

* * *

 

 Shiro did manage to put back almost everything Keith grabbed on impulse, with the exception of a fake plant, a throw pillow that had an arctic fox on it, and an ice cube tray that made fish-shaped ice.  

 

* * *

 

 They decided to go out that following Thursday.

Keith was an absolute wreck the entire day, pacing around the apartment like a cat that had with its tail poofed. Shiro was, unfortunately, at work and couldn’t do anything to pacify Keith’s hyperactive imagination. He did however, stick post-it notes all over the apartment for Keith to find. Each one either said some sort of encouraging phase or it was a reminder for Keith to eat or shower or any number of things a normal person was supposed to do before a date.

_Don’t forget to brush your hair._

_He’s just as nervous about today as you are._

_Use my moisturizer. It has SPF._

_Focus on how excited you are! Remember how much you wanted this to happen?_

_Do not, I repeat DO NOT wear anything that is XL or bigger. I understand you like big, comfy clothes, but this is a date. Look nice! Wear something a little more fitted and clean. And I mean really clean, not ‘you can only see the stain when you look at it from a certain angle’ clean. That’s not how this works, Keith._

That last message took two and a half sticky notes. 

Keith had his outfit laid out on his bed, not willing to let anything food or drink related near it. He decided to take Shiro’s advice and went for something a little nicer than usual. A maroon shirt with grey jeans (with _intentional_ holes on the knees) and a black button down sweater for when it got cooler in the evening.

The sweater might technically be breaking Shiro’s rule. After all, it was big enough to go all the way to his mid-thigh, but since Shiro was the one who bought it for him in the first place, Keith figured he could get away with it.

At a quarter past three, Keith got dressed.

At thirty minutes passed, Lance texted Keith that he was on his way.

At precisely four o’clock, the buzzer was ringing by the front door.

Keith combed through his hair one last time before heading out the door.

They ate sushi and spring rolls at a large outdoor mall. They rattled on back and forth about what movie to see before they realized that they didn’t want to stop talking to one another.

Lance took Keith by the hand and ushered him along into every open store. They tried on hats and sunglasses, making silly faces in the camera of Lance’s phone and annoying some of the sales people.

They bought candies and tossed them to each other while walking to their next destination.

Keith took Lance to the bookstore and they sat in the children’s section grabbing books they remembered from their childhood and showing them to one another.

They wandered, a little aimlessly, focusing not on where they were going, but on who they were there with.

It was the most perfect night Keith had ever had.

Months had passed since Keith was freed from the prison that was Marmora. All the while, he built a new life with brother, made friends with some truly amazing people, and found out that he still could be loved even after admitting his dark past. However it wasn’t until that moment, wandering around the parking lot trying to remember where they parked, that Keith truly felt _different._

He felt as though some part of him, a part that he thought had been choked out of him when he was still a child, had returned.

Keith finally felt like himself again.

 

* * *

 

 The building Lance lived in was only three stories high, so they didn’t get the best view of the sunset. It was still ridiculously charming though. Lance and Hunk had taken the time to decorate the little space into something comfortable and sweet.

The rooftop was decorated with multiple strands of fairy lights, almost like a personal little star-scape that they could gaze upon whenever they wanted. There were a few different styles of patio chairs, a long table for outdoor parties and a wicker couch with cushions covered in squeaky vinyl. Keith dusted off a spot for himself on the couch and kicked off his shoes. He curled his legs under him and listened as Lance tried to settle on a playlist for them to listen to.

“K-pop is a little too…poppy? Eccentric? I can’t figure out what, but it’s not the right mood music,” Lance babbled.

“We need mood music?” Keith asked.

“Duh. All great dates need mood music.”

Keith hid is smile in the sleeve of his sweater. Lance settled on some sort of instrumental playlist, which surprised Keith. He never really thought that Lance was the classical music type of guy. Then again, many of his preconceived ideas of Lance were created when they were both still kids. Back then, there friend/relationship was nothing more than a shallow little puddle. Things were different now. Things were better.

Lance dragged one of the lounge chairs over to Keith’s spot on the couch and stretched his legs out as far as they would go. He sighed, long and content as his whole body seemed to melt into the colorful plastic chair.

Watching every muscle in Lance’s body uncoil and relax was downright mesmerizing, and Keith couldn’t look away. Not even when one of those bright blue eyes glanced at him from under thick lashes. Keith still couldn’t look away when a confident smirk appeared on Lance lips.

“You alright over there, Keith-y boy? You look like your about ten seconds away from drooling,” Lance teased.

It took a moment too long for Keith to realize that Lance was messing with him. It took even longer for Keith to open his mouth to speak. However, his words didn’t seem to want to travel that treacherous path from his brain to his tongue.

Lance shifted in his seat. “Uh, you alright there buddy? You’re not short circuiting on me are you? ‘Cuz you brother kind of terrifies me and I don’t want to tell him that I like, ruined you brain.”

“What?” Keith frowned. “You’re scared of Shiro? Why?”

“Um, have you _seen_ him? The dude could probably knock me out just flicking me on the forehead. I do not want to be on the receiving end of his ‘big brother beat down’ mode.”

“Shiro spends his days off watching _Grey’s Anatomy_ and learning random ass hobbies. He started crocheting and now we have lumpy squares of yarn as coasters in the living room.”

Lance perked up. “He crochets? Dude I’ve been wanting to learn to crochet for years! Think he could teach me? I’ll teach him how to knit.”

“I guess I can ask for you.”

“Thanks, man.”

Keith huffed, sinking into his seat a bit more. “I think that was the weirdest deal I’ve ever been a part of.”

“You should hang around Pidge and Matt more. I once saw Matt trade away his super high-tech gaming computer to Pidge for like, four cans of Pringles and a Starbucks gift card. And, for some reason, that was a fair deal.”

“That sounds fake. Are you sure you didn’t just make that up?”

Lance shrugged. “Just ask him, dude. It’s even weirder hearing the story from him.”

The air was cool, gently blowing all around them and sweeping away the city grime. The music helped pull attention away from the lively city on the streets below. All around them, the other buildings stood like ancient monoliths, dwarfing their little haven and sheltering it from any prying eyes.

They were in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world, and yet they felt completely alone.

Lance picked up his phone and fiddled with the playlist. Along with the instrumental songs, a few others began to join the mix. Soft melodies and gentle voices float up to mingle with the twinkling lights above them.

 

_Every night in a different bed_

_The ceilings look the same_

 

The singer’s voice was somber, almost sad. But it didn’t feel like a sad song. The melody stirred up different feelings in Keith that he wasn’t quite sure how to name.

 

_Every light leaves a memory_

_I swear they’re tracing out your name_

 

“Tell me the truth,” Lance started. “Did you have a good time?”

Keith grinned. “Yeah.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. Why do you sound so unsure? I had a great time today.”

Lance glanced up at the lights, avoiding Keith’s eyes. “I just want to make sure is all. Apparently I can come off as a little ‘too much’ on first dates. According to Shelly Walters, anyway.”

“Well, Shelly Walters can shove her dumb opinion up her ass,” Keith practically growled. “You’re great. This is a great first date.”

Lance beamed.

 

_A couple hundred miles from somewhere_

_And another couple more to go_

 

“Technically speaking, I think this counts as our second date.” Keith leaned heavily against the armrest, unknowingly trying to get closer to where Lance sat on his chair.

“It does?”

“Yeah. There was that day we walked around the park. We—uh…we k-kissed…”

Lance’s eyes lit up. “Oh yeah! Ugh, that was a great day. Damn, I’m like, the master of planning dates, huh?”

Keith reached over and flicked Lance’s cheek. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. It was only two dates.”

“Two out of two is still a hundred percent score, Keith.”

“Ugh, why do I like you?”

 

_Ask me what I remember_

_I’ll say I really don’t know_

 

“I don’t know,” Lance answered. “But , whatever the reason, I’m glad. That you uh, like me.”

 _It’s hard not too_ , Keith thought. _It’s hard to not want to be around you. It’s hard to keep my distance when all I want to do is pull you close. It’s hard to look past everything and focus on the now. But, I think I can do that. I think I can move on, with you by my side._

“Keith?” Lance’s eyes were shimmering like sunlight glinting off the waves of the sea. It almost didn’t seem real. This moment, this boy. But it was. It really was all happening. Keith was here, sitting underneath fake stars and getting lost in some boy’s eyes while music played softly behind them.

“Lance…” Keith licked his lips, his mind ten steps behind him and his heart launching him forward.

“Yeah?” Did Lance’s voice always sound that deep? That rough? God, it was doing thing to Keith’s heart that he didn’t know was possible.

“Can I—would it be okay if I…if I…”

“…kiss me.”

 

_I was living a lonely life until I fell for you_

_I was living lost boys life, it was all I ever knew_

_And every morning the sun comes up_

_And the darkness fades away_

_I was living a lost boys life_

_It was all you had to say_

_It was all you had to say_

 

Eager lips and eager hands. They pressed against one another, grasping and pulling, trying to experience everything all at once.

It felt like something had collided with Keith’s chest and knocked all the wind out of him. However instead of falling, instead of being crushed by the pressure, Keith was wrapped up in it.

He was wrapped up in the feeling of Lance’s fingers tracing his jaw.

Tangled in the soft cotton of Lance’s shirt.

Enveloped by the warm puff of air from Lance’s mouth that brushed his lips for the second they were apart.

Keith was bound to Lance with nothing more than honest words and hearts bursting with love.

It didn’t sound like much, but ties like these were the ones that lasted lifetimes.

“… _Lance_ …” Keith’s voice was absolutely wrecked. Lance’s name fell from his lips almost accidently. Like it was perched on the tip of his tongue just dying for a chance to jump from his lips.

And it kept taking the leap.

 _Lance. Lance. Lance._ Keith swore the name left his mouth twenty times already. It should have been embarrassing, and maybe it would be in retrospect, but right now Keith could only focus on the fact that he was _finally_ kissing Lance again.

Judging by the way Lance’s lips curved upward every time Keith breathed his name, Lance wasn’t bothered at all.

All negative thoughts seemed to flow from his mind. Before, when he was pacing around his apartment, Keith couldn’t help but let his mind wander. The idea that they were moving too fast kept slamming into his brain every damn minute.

 _We should be friends first,_ Keith thought over and over. _First friends, then better friends and then maybe a date? Maybe…maybe…this is too fast. Too soon. I don’t what I’m doing, I don’t even know how to live normally. He hated me not too long ago. I hated myself too. This is too soon…too soon…we should wait…we need to wait—_

Those thoughts dried up as soon as Keith met Lance at his door. They continued to stay away while they had lunch, chased each other through the mall, and made their way up to the rooftop. And when they finally kissed, those negative thoughts disappeared entirely. Blown away by the wind and swept up far into the night sky.

This was exactly where they were meant to be.

 

Keith closed his eyes and listened to the steady _thump thump thump_ of Lance’s heart. It was impossible not to listen when Keith was curled up on Lance almost like a cat. Their legs were a tangled mess, but there was really no other way for the both of them to fit on the couch. Not that either of them were complaining, of course.

“How is your hair this soft?” Lance mused. He’d been running his fingers through Keith’s hair for the better part of an hour.

Keith hummed. “’Dunno. It’s just like that.”

“Figures. You’re just the perfect, pretty boy, aren’t you?”

“I think we both know that’s a lie.” Keith chuckled. He could write a whole book about his failings as both a friend and a human. The list was literally that long.

Lance pulled him a little closer. “Yeah…I guess.”

Pressed into Lance’s side, Keith had never felt so…small? Almost fragile. Like Lance’s arms were the only thing protecting him from the cool wind shattering him apart. Usually, Keith would link that feeling to weakness. As if he couldn’t protect himself from the things that stood in his path.

Lance didn’t make him feel weak. Keith still felt tiny and protected, but that feeling was more relaxing than anything else. This was one of those rare moments where Keith was completely comfortable with the person he was with. One of the few times Keith ever truly let his guard down. It was a bit of a shocking reminder every time it happened. Keith never really realized how wound up he was from day to day until that tension finally faded away. The first time it happened was when he had reconnected with Shiro, Keith basically fell asleep where he stood. Laying in Lance’s arms with the rosy morning glow painting the sky, he was very close to passing out once again.

“Hey, you still with me, darlin’?” Lance asked quietly.

“Barely,” Keith answered. His eyes were already closed.

“No worries. Get some sleep, okay? I’ll be here.”

Those were the best words Keith could have heard.

 

* * *

 

  Hunk gave the two of them plenty of time. He even stayed at Shay’s until eleven before he started heading home. In theory, that was plenty of time for Lance’s date, even if Keith stayed over. Hunk’s theory proved to be wrong.

The living room lights were still on, even though the room was completely empty. There were an extra set of keys on the kitchen table, along with a small shopping bag from an unfamiliar store. Hunk slid his shoes off and walked as quietly as he could down the hall to his own room, but to his surprise, Lance’s door was wide open. The bed was still haphazardly made from the day before with his roommate nowhere in sight.

For two full minutes, Hunk really thought that his friend had been kidnapped. Just as he was about to search for a ransom note, Hunk noticed the window that led to the fire escape was left open. Curious, Hunk went to the window. Once he made it to the roof, two things became clear.

One: Lance had, thankfully, not been kidnapped.

Two: This was possibly the beginning of something truly great for his best friend.

Hunk took one last glance at Lance and Keith curled up on the couch and made his way back down the fire escape. In true Hunk fashion, he made a small bowl of snacks and brought a few water bottles up to the roof for the two when they eventually woke up.

 

* * *

 

 “Why do you still work here?” Keith asked as soon as he made it up to the counter.

Matt sighed, dusting off some stray coffee from his apron. “Not even a hello? And here I thought we were friends?”

The coffee shop was in full swing, what with the Arus State University in the middle of the semester. Keith hadn’t been back to the place since the he first met Allura and Matt, so he kind of forgot that Matt worked there at all. It wasn’t until he stepped inside that he realized why the name of the coffee house was so familiar.

“Hello, Matt. Can I get a medium white chocolate mocha?” Keith asked in his most monotone voice.

“Why of course, Keith. I’d be happy to make that for you.” Matt grinned.

With his total rung up and payment transferred, Keith scooted down to the end of the counter to wait for his drink.

“Lance is really rubbing off on you, y’know.” Matt glanced up from his work making Keith’s drink.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, before you two started dating, it was only black coffee and black tea for you. Now you’re expanding your drink pallet. I’m so proud.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “First off we’ve only been going out for like three weeks. There’s no way he’d rub off on me that quickly. And second, this is literally the second time I’ve ordered a drink from you. How do you know what I normally order?”

“Dude, I _literally_ bring drinks every time we work together.”

 _Huh_ , Keith thought. He really didn’t notice. Tea just sort of materialized in his hands when he and Matt were working on a heist. Keith honestly never really noticed where it came from.

Matt shook his head. “It’s a wonder how you get by on a day to day basis.”

“You—well, you never answered my first question?” Keith shot back. It wasn’t the best retort, but it was early and Keith’s brain wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders at the moment.

“Oh! I work here for fun, mostly. That and so I have something to tell my parents when they call and ask about work. I just, have a hard time lying to them, y’know?” Matt looked a little sheepish as he slid Keith’s coffee across the counter.

He didn’t really know what Matt meant, but then again, Keith himself nearly imploded for the month he kept his job a secret from Shiro. So maybe he did understand a little.

“Well, that’s…nice I guess.” Keith shrugged.

Matt rolled his eyes and chuckled. “It’s something. Anyways, I think I see Lance outside. Go grab a table and I’ll make sure to send him your way.”

“Thanks, Matt.”

“Anytime, partner.”

With a final little wave, Keith gathered up his drink and went to the back corner of the coffee shop. There was a couch that might have been plush at one point, but had been sat upon one too many times by coffee patrons to survive intact. Keith fought with the lumpy cushions for a few minutes before he finally found a way to make them comfortable. All his effort was wasted .02 seconds later when Lance plopped down next to him.

Keith was pretty sure his butt actually left the couch when Lance aggressively sat down. The cushions melted back into their weird, lumpy forms and Keith could already feel his back aching from sitting on this abomination for too long. All that work, and yet Keith didn’t mind when a certain head of brown hair settled into his lap.

Lance looked up at Keith and grinned. “Miss me?” he winked.

“No.” Of course, Keith’s actions spoke louder than his words as he reached down and kissed Lance on the forehead.

“Aw, I knew it. You’re a total softy, babe.”

“Lies.”

“Dude you’re like, petting my hair. You’re a sensitive little bean, admit it.”

“Never.”

The afternoon passed in much of the same fashion. The banter between the two was just as easy as breathing. And when Lance finally sat up, Keith leaned into his boyfriend’s shoulder and listened to the update on Lance’s family back home.

People came and went. Their drinks were emptied and they filled once again. Their plan for the day was simply this, existing next to one another. Simply taking a day and spending it together. No other worries, no other plans. Just this.

Keith would yearn for such a simple time in the days that followed.

“Huh,” Lance flipped his phone over so Keith could see the screen.

“Allura? What’s she calling about?” He asked.

“Dunno. I’m not supposed to meet with her till tomorrow.” Lance shrugged and swiped to answer. “Hey ‘lura. Did I forget to do something again?”

The smile on Lance’s face turned into a confused frowned. Keith sat up, leaning in a bit to see if he could hear the other half of the conversation.

“Yeah, Keith’s here,” Lance continued. “Do you wanna— uh sure? Yeah, we can be there in like, fifteen minutes? Okay…yeah, okay…see you soon. Bye.”

Keith cheek was practically pressed against Lance’s by the time the phone call ended. “What was that about?” he asked.

Lance frowned. “I’m not sure. She wants us to head to her place.” After a few moments of hesitation, Lance spoke again. “She sounded…weird.”

“A good weird or bad weird?”

“Medium weird? I don’t know, I couldn’t really tell. C’mon, let’s get going.”

As they got up and passed the counter, Matt was pulling off his apron and saying goodbye to his coworkers. Keith made eye contact with him, but Matt simply shrugged. He had no idea what was going on either.

Even though Lance tried to make conversation in the car, there were too many questions in the air. Every word felt a little more then forced and Keith couldn’t stay focused enough to keep the conversation going.

Something was happening. Something that set Keith’s nerves on edge and made his stomach roll. Keith’s instinct’s had never failed him before. Whatever Allura called them about, it wasn’t good.

Lance pulled his car smoothly into Allura’s driveway. The grand house looked more grey than usual and Keith could only account that to his mood. It was like the very house was uneasy.

Keith glanced at Lance across the top of the car.

“After you?” he said eventually.

Lance huffed, a small amused smile on his lips. It faded fairly quickly.

There were no other cars in the driveway, so there was nothing to clue them in about what they were walking into. Lance knocked on the door, taking a deep breath while he did so.

Moments later, the door opened with a creak. Allura greeted them in turn, her hair in a messy bun and worry etched into her eyes. But Keith couldn’t focus on her at all. Not her voice or her appearance. Hell, he couldn’t even comprehend the fact that Lance had gently taken his hand.

No, Keith couldn’t see anything beyond the person standing just behind Allura. His pulse felt like an overloaded circuit beneath his skin, mere moments away from raging out of control.

He wasn’t supposed to be there. Keith had said his not-so-warm goodbye’s to him ages ago. Up until that very moment, Keith had purged him from his mind and wiped his face out of his memory. So why the _fuck_ was he standing inside Allura’s house?

“—eith? Keith, you okay?” Lance asked. His hand was gripping Keith’s tighter than before.

Keith glared at the man behind Allura, his voice rumbling in his chest like a growl.

“What the hell are you doing here, Kolivan?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now a very enjoyable quote from my wonderful beta annyalia:
> 
> "i know you so i know something bad is about to happen and let me just say i am not looking forward to it"
> 
> And that was even before the ending lol.  
> Sorry for that little cliffhanger, my friends. Especially since I've been pretty inconsistent with updates, this might be left hanging longer then intended. I am working on the next chapter, but with work, things might be slow. I thank you all for sticking around and hope that you continue to do so! There's still so much story to tell. 
> 
> Thanks for reading <3
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> [fic playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7NCqaPlsQZbK0VVgTYwxhiz6CMAuw65w)


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